ALERT: CORONAVIRUS / WUHAN VIRUS

ALERT: CORONAVIRUS / WUHAN VIRUS

If you have recently travelled to Wuhan, China and have a fever, difficulty breathing, a cough or sore throat please

DO NOT ENTER THE CLINIC.

Please call the practice and ask for Nurse Manager for advice on 9293 4455.

For further information on this virus please refer to following link:
https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/ohp-novel-coronavirus.htm

End of an Era

Our beloved Dr Russell Tosh retired as a General Practitioner with Mead Medical on the 24^th of December.

Dr Tosh was much loved and Iconic part of Mead Medical for 40 years and will be missed by staff, colleagues and patients.

We wish him all the best in his twilight years.

Medical Myth Busting and the Black Salve

I’m Dr Leena Uppal from Mead Medical.

Medical Myth Busting and the Black Salve

Myth: Black salve can be used safely to treat skin cancer and other skin conditions naturally and effectively. This myth is responsible for serious harm and even death in some cases. The sale of Black Salve in Australia is illegal.  But-it is also easily available online from countries with less regulation. It most commonly it contains bloodroot and zinc Chloride. Zinc chloride is a synthetic corrosive chemical with nothing natural about it. This combination causes tissue destruction and scabbing and the dead tissue eventually sloughs away.

It has an interesting history.

In the 1850’s American surgeon, Jesse Fell popularised Fell’s Paste. He learned of bloodroot from the Native Americans and added in zinc chloride. On emigrating to London he briefly established a lucrative cancer practice using this paste but was soon ridiculed by the medical establishment.

In the 1920’s, Harry Hoxsey, an insurance salesman, began selling Hoxey’s Red Paste which had antimony trisulfide added to the bloodroot and zinc chloride. . Hoxsey opened 17 clinics across the US and treated thousands of patients-but the American Medical Association branded Hoxsey a fraud and the US FDA posted warnings about Hoxsey’s Paste in 46,000 US post offices!

In the 1930’s Dr Frederick Moh noted that zinc chloride fixed and histologically preserved skin in vivo. He patented a paste that contained stibnite and bloodroot and zinc chloride to help him map tumour margins. This technique was very successful but Dr Moh patented the paste to prevent it being used improperly as standalone therapy.

In 1975 Dr Almeida Goncalves, developed a paste with galangal + bloodroot + zinc chloride. He applied this salve for 24 hours to a lesion as well as 5-10mm of normal looking skin around it. Biopsies taken during 5-10 yr follow up showed no recurrences but there were high failure rates on initial application. Up to 38% BCCs and 21% SCCs failed to respond. Multiple applications were needed.  This suggests that treatment Black Salve is very risky and patients using Black Salve are at considerable risk of residual cancer if they do not have biopsies after salve application.

In the 1990’s Greg Caton formed Alpha Omega Labs, which made Black Salve. Caton served a US prison sentence for mail fraud and the introduction of new, unapproved drugs,  but after he got out of prison he moved to Ecuador where he still sells Black Salve online to the world, just outside US jurisdiction.

In summary, Black Salve is not natural, it is not cancer specific and it harms normal human tissue!

Medical Myth number one, busted.

Doctor Updates

Welcome Dr Celia Worth

We welcome Dr Celia Worth to the Mead Medical team. 

Dr Worth is a mother of two young children and completed her medical degree at the University of Queensland in 2008. She then she went on to complete five years of speciality training in obstetrics and gynaecology at predominantly Liverpool Hospital, a busy tertiary centre in Sydney.

In 2017 she made the difficult decision to follow her husband back to his home town in Perth and refocus her priorities to work life balance and being a mother.

Since that time she has been working as a career medical officer in obstetrics and gynaecology at Joondalup Hospital.

For now, she is working towards completing the general practitioner component of becoming a GP obstetrician but hopes to complete her specialist training in the future once her children are at school.

Celia is passionate about every aspect of women’s health and providing women with equitable access to all available resources, information and health care providers.

Her current aspirations include having another child, providing care to women with a holistic approach and locuming in remote areas of Western Australia to bridge the gap in health care provision for women.

Welcome back Dr Anna Dillon and Dr Sandy Braiuka

Dr Anna Dillon

We welcome back Dr Anna Dillon and Dr Sandy Braiuka who are returning to the Mead Medical team after finishing their training at other practices. 

Dr Anna Dillon initially qualified as a Physiotherapist in 2002 and worked in NZ, the UK and Australia before deciding to study medicine at Notre Dame in Fremantle. She graduated in 2012 and worked at Fremantle Hospital. While doing a GP term in Carnarvon she discovered her passion for general practice and womens health and she has subsequently undertaken 2 years of womens health training and is part of the Mead team who provide obstetric care at Bentley Hospital. Anna is passionate about all aspects of general practice with a particular interest in women’s health, sexual health, paediatrics, sports medicine and preventative health. Outside of work Anna and her partner are kept busy with their gorgeous infant son. She also enjoys running and mountain biking and exploring WA. 

Dr Sandy Braiuka

Dr Sandy Braiuka has enjoyed careers in many aspects of health care for over 30 years, including as a teacher, researcher, naturopath, kinesiologist and now as a Doctor. She has a special interest in sexual health, paediatrics, mental health, palliative care and all aspects of women’s health including antenatal care and insertion and removal of mirenas and implanons. Her passion is integrative medicine and the exploration of the mind-body connection through mindfulness, meditation and preventative health care. Outside of medicine, Sandy loves singing with the Gay and Lesbian choir and traveling to explore new places, cultures and food.

Goodbye Dr Helen Wilcox

We’re sad to advise that Dr Helen Wilcox has left Mead. She and her husband have made the decision to move their family back to the UK. Helen spent 6 years with us and will be sorely missed by patients, staff and fellow Doctors alike. We wish Helen and her family the best of luck for the next phase of their lives.

Easter Opening Hours

Please see below the list of opening hours for both clinics over the Easter & ANZAC Day period. 

Extended Weekend Hours

Mead Medical is now open all day across the weekend for your convenience. 

Welcome Dr Danielle Vlahov

We’re very pleased to announce that Dr Danielle Vlahov will join us in a full time capacity on Monday 14th January.

Since completing medical school at the University of Notre Dame in Fremantle in 2014, Dr Vlahov has worked in numerous hospitals across Perth covering many aspects of medicine. She has a special interest in women’s sexual and reproductive health, paediatrics (registered Youth Friendly Doctor) and mental health. More recently she has undertaken further training, completing her DRANZCOG through King Edward Memorial Hospital with special interest in antenatal care. She has also completed a certificate in sexual and reproductive health and is qualified to insert and remove both Implanons and IUDs.

Danielle believes in a holistic approach to managing patients’ needs with a focus on ensuring all aspects of their health are attended to at each consult.
Outside of the practice she enjoys running along Perth’s pristine coast line. Danielle likes to maintain an active lifestyle which helps connect her with the community and her family.

Appointments with Dr Vlahov can be booked online via our website, the Hot Doc app on your smartphone or by calling 9293 4455 (Kalamunda) or 9453 6566 (Forrestfield).

Goodbye Dr Dillon, Dr Braiuka & Dr Colby

We’re sad to let you know that the registrar training rotations for Dr Braiuka, Dr Colby and Dr Dillon have come to an end today, so they leave us to continue their training at other practices.

Dr Dillon will return in July and we’re hopeful that Dr Braiuka and Dr Colby will return at some point in the future, but in the meantime we wish them all well and thank them for their amazing contribution to our patients, the community and the practice.

Best of luck!

Happy Retirement Dr Brooksbank

We’re both happy and sad to advise that after 40 years with Mead Medical, Dr John Brooksbank has retired from general practice.

Dr Brooksbank has called Kalamunda home since 1979 and since then has made a huge contribution to the residents of the Perth Hills. He’ll be sorely missed by colleagues and patients alike. We thank him for his tireless work over such a long period and wish him the best for his retirement which will no doubt include some travel!

Welcome Dr Sarah Colby

We are delighted to welcome Dr Sarah Colby to the Mead Medical team. 

After travelling the world for a year after high school, Sarah initially completed a degree in exercise and health science, specialising in exercise rehabilitation before moving into medicine at UWA.

She welcomed the opportunity to spend a year of medical school working in Kununurra devolving her skills in a different environment, where she was also able to enjoy the lifestyle of camping amongst the gorges, waterfalls and bushland.

Graduating in 2013, Sarah worked in many different areas of medicine and surgery in the hospitals around Perth before entering into general practice training.

Sarah was fortunate to have enjoyed six months at King Edward Memorial Hospital where she completed a Diploma in Women’s Health on the background of a keen interest in women’s health, antenatal care and sexual health.

Outside work, Sarah loves travelling, camping and participating in triathlons.