I write about about health and medicine for national UK media. MJA Case Study Writer of the Year 2018 & Journalist of the Year (Health Food Manufacturers' Association) June 2017. MJA Finalist 2020&21
It’s time to make rare diseases a global health priority and ensure that people living with rare diseases are not left behind.
All Posts
Alexandra Heumber Perry—Global
4 min read
It is time to shift the paradigm on rare diseases
It’s time to make rare diseases a global health priority and ensure that people living with rare diseases are not left behind.
Jo Waters—Global
9 min read
Can high-cost gene therapies become affordable for all?
As new gene therapies offer hope for rare diseases, health systems work to balance innovation with sustainability.
Prasanna Shirol—India
4 min read
Designing a collaborative care syste...
For decades I was brushed off by doctors over my chunky painful legs – then I discovered I have lipoedema and I was given a life-changing cure
For decades Pai Masendu believed she simply had ‘fat legs’ that were out of proportion to the rest of her body – but it wasn’t only their size that bothered her.
They also constantly ached and were prone to bruising, and no amount of dieting or exercise seemed to help.
One year she lost three stone, but she says, ‘while my collarbone stuck out and my face was thin, my legs and arms never lost any weight’.
‘People complimented me on my smaller waist and hourglass figure, but I’d have to buy cl...
I suffered with itchy skin and felt tired all the time - GPs dismissed me but I was on the verge of ORGAN FAILURE
A super-fit swimmer and lifeguard, Becky Bessell had long looked after herself and had no health problems until her mid-40s, when she started experiencing a cluster of seemingly minor problems, including itchy skin on her back and fatigue.
The GP put these down to perimenopause, prescribing an emollient to moisturise her skin, and hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
‘The HRT helped with my energy levels for a while, but the itching didn’t go away,’ recalls Becky.
‘Then, over the next few years...
For decades I was brushed off by doctors over my chunky painful legs - then I discovered I have lipoedema and I was given a life-changing cure
For decades Pai Masendu believed she simply had 'fat legs' that were out of proportion to the rest of her body – but it wasn't only their size that bothered her.
They also constantly ached and were prone to bruising, and no amount of dieting or exercise seemed to help.
One year she lost three stone, but she says, 'while my collarbone stuck out and my face was thin, my legs and arms never lost any weight'.
'People complimented me on my smaller waist and hourglass figure, but I'd have to buy cl...
Rare form of dementia with devastating symptoms explodes in young people across Britain - as one woman reveals her husband's horrific ordeal and the symptoms YOU shouldn't ignore
At the age of just 54, Geoff Pike was diagnosed with dementia, turning his family’s world upside down. ‘There were lots of tears, it was a nightmare for us,’ says his wife Helen, 59, a retired nurse and hospital manager.
The couple, from Gretton in Northamptonshire, were ‘at that stage of life where we had so many plans, including retiring early and travelling’, says Helen. ‘Suddenly everything changed.’
Geoff, now 61, a former national sales director for a private medical insurer, is one of ...
I spent a year studying campus sexual violence. Here’s what I found out
Institutions that don’t respond to sexual-assault allegations are failing to protect people who could be targeted in future, says Nicole Bedera.
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I was left with painful, swollen arms after breast cancer surgery. But this pioneering procedure reversed it...
Lifting a hairdryer again after more than a year of breast cancer treatment, hairdresser Victoria Lock began to feel a heavy, dragging ache in her left arm.
She had been diagnosed with cancer in April 2022, after finding a lump in her left breast when she turned over in bed.
It was a stage two (early) tumour that had spread to the lymph nodes in her left armpit.
‘Chemotherapy, surgery to remove my left breast and the affected lymph nodes, breast reconstruction and then radiotherapy – all in t...
‘Hearing loss made me so lonely, I felt my life was over’
HEALTH
More than half of over-55s have hearing loss, increasing to 70% for over-70s, yet many are reluctant to wear a hearing aid. Until recently, Lesley Reynolds, 71, was one of them…
Sound investment Lesley is now able to enjoy time with grandchildren Arabella and Freddie
photography MICHAEL LECKIE
When my hearing started to go five years ago, I tried to ignore it. I work in the wellness industry running a Harley Street beauty clinic with my husband Dr Aamer Khan; my whole working life is a...
I suffered with itchy skin and felt tired all the time - GPs dismissed me but I was on the verge of ORGAN FAILURE
A super-fit swimmer and lifeguard, Becky Bessell had long looked after herself and had no health problems until her mid-40s, when she started experiencing a cluster of seemingly minor problems, including itchy skin on her back and fatigue.
The GP put these down to perimenopause, prescribing an emollient to moisturise her skin, and hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
‘The HRT helped with my energy levels for a while, but the itching didn’t go away,’ recalls Becky.
‘Then, over the next few years...
Using a sauna instantly eased my Parkinson's pain - and now I sleep all night
At just 45, Jules King says the painful, stiff muscles she experienced with her Parkinson's disease made her feel as if she were 'trapped in an 85-year-old's body'.
But she has now found some relief from an unusual source: saunas.
'I suffered from muscle spasms every single day and muscle rigidity, as well as slowness of movement,' says Jules, who has two grown-up children and lives in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. 'I'd previously been trying cold-water dipping and ice baths and got some shor...
Who’s caring for carers?
The UK has an army of 5.8 million unpaid carers including one in three NHS employees. What’s being done to improve carers’ lives, and do the new moves go far enough? Journalist Jo Waters reports.
Unpaid carers contribute care to the value of £184.3 billion a year in the UK, according to latest figures from Carers UK and the Centre for Care (2024). Carers do so by looking after relatives or friends who are unable to look after themselves due to old age, ill health or because they’re disabled.
...
Using a sauna instantly eased my Parkinson's pain - and now I sleep all night
At just 45, Jules King says the painful, stiff muscles she experienced with her Parkinson's disease made her feel as if she were 'trapped in an 85-year-old's body'.
But she has now found some relief from an unusual source: saunas.
'I suffered from muscle spasms every single day and muscle rigidity, as well as slowness of movement,' says Jules, who has two grown-up children and lives in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. 'I'd previously been trying cold-water dipping and ice baths and got some shor...
Violence against women and girls: a national emergency
Crimes involving violence against women and girls have increased by almost 40%, and this could just be the tip of the iceberg. With police chiefs calling it a national emergency and epidemic, journalist Jo Waters investigates what’s being done to address the crisis.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC, 2024) recently revealed that violence against women and girls (VAWG) in England and Wales increased by 37% from 2018 to 2023. More than one million violent crimes against women and girls ...
Reality of hidden 'toxic' mould in your food. Many blame coffee, grains and even juice for their distressing symptoms - now doctors reveal the truth
It's being blamed for a range of health problems - from itchy eyes and sensitive skin to breathing difficulties and gut problems such as bloating or diarrhoea. So are you, too, suffering from ‘mould toxicity’, as many influencers now claim?
These are just some of the ‘warnings’ popping up on social media that mould-containing foods – which includes sourdough bread, blue cheese and kimchi – can trigger food allergies, intolerances or ‘toxicity’ symptoms.
Influencers – ranging from holistic hea...