Health & Fitness

The petition of a terminally ill Southland father calling for cancer care reform has been presented to Parliament today. Blair Vining started the petition after he was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer late last year. The petitions asks for an independent, national cancer agency to be created t

Blair Vining, a 38-year-old father of two, met with Health Minister David Clark in Dunedin on Monday. Mr Vining was diagnosed with terminal bowel cancer late last year and had to seek life-lengthening treatment through the private sector, he is now living his life in three-month blocks. He is respon

A Southland father with terminal bowel cancer hopes to trigger a citizens-initiated referendum to reform cancer care in New Zealand. Blair Vining was diagnosed with stage four cancer last October. He has launched a petition calling for the creation of a national cancer agency with oversight of care

Strikes by junior doctors this year have cost district health boards more than $19 million and there’s no end in sight. Members of the Resident Doctors Association (RDA) have held five strikes since mid-January in a row with their employers over proposed changes to their now-lapsed employment contra

An outbreak of measles in Canterbury has prompted huge demand for vaccinations, but what is the disease and how serious is it really? This Q&A explainer lays out the facts … What is measles? Measles is one of the most infectious contagious disease known, infecting children as well as adults via coug

A study by researchers from Statens Serum Institut (SSI) once again invalidates the claim that the MMR vaccine increases children’s risk of developing autism. The study results are timely because Europe is currently witnessing a tripling of measles cases in just one year. For more than 20 years, cla

Hundreds of Tiwai staff and their families will take off the high vis and put on their running shoes, to take part in the annual ICC Surf to City on Sunday. About 300 people have signed up from the New Zealand Aluminium Smelters’ Tiwai site, a mixture of staff and their families. It’s believed to […

Comedian turned mental health advocate Mike King has been crowned Kiwibank New Zealander of the year. Mr King is an outspoken advocate for changing attitudes toward mental illness. Through his work with the Key to Life charity, last year he led a New Zealand speaking tour from Bluff to Cape Reinga,