A devastating loss for Tana

GUILT, anger, shock and distress – they’re just a few of the words mothers (and fathers) use to describe their feelings after a miscarriage. Undoubtedly these, along with so many others, will still be emotions consuming the Ramsays after Gordon’s wife, Tana, lost what would have been their fifth child, in the fifth month of pregnancy. Sadly, one in five confirmed pregnancies is thought to end this way, but it is most common in the first trimester. Miscarrying at five months is more unusual and far more devastating: Tana will have felt kicks, heard a heartbeat and seen her fully formed baby boy on scans. All parents struck by a miscarriage will be offered referral to the NHS counselling services. Charities such as the Miscarriage Association also offer this kind of service, which is an important part of the healing process. Celebrity chef Gordon, 49, and his wife, 41, left, were seen out at a restaurant in Malibu, California, with their daughter Holly, 16, on Monday night, so perhaps life is starting to carry on as normal. Privately, though, like all people they will need time and space to heal and recover and grieve. I HAD a personal health success last week, after running my first 5k race. It’s not a huge distance compared to the London Marathon that my friends do each year, but this was part of a promise to myself: to undertake a much more robust fitness programme before I turn 40. I was inspired by the words of my colleague Matt Roberts on these pages. He said that far from reducing exercise at 40, you should be adding in cardiovascular work and really going for it with four sessions a week. Having the goal of a race really kept up the motivation. So much so that I just signed up for a 10k – and I’m still three months off that big birthday! A NEW treatment regime for prostate cancer could save the NHS millions each year and vastly improve the experience of the patient. Studies conclude that rather than the typical 37 sessions of radiotherapy a patient receives, 20 sessions of higher doses works just as well. This means 17 fewer visits for the patient, with treatment complete in one month, not two. The so-called ‘hard and fast’ treatment is safe and effective, and cancer charities are calling for it to be rolled out now. Such treatment accounts for 25 per cent of radiotherapy and this change will allow for vast savings in cancer centres.