cancer
Asian and Black patients in England wait longer for cancer diagnoses than white patients, study finds
- Based on an analysis of 126,000 cancer cases in England between 2006 and 2016, Asian and Black people are forced to wait longer for cancer diagnoses than white people.
- Funded by Cancer Research UK and conducted by the University of Exeter and the Guardian, the review covered the four most common cancers: lung, breast, prostate and colorectal, as well as three commonly diagnosed in ethnic minorities: esophagogastric, myeloma and ovarian.
- In general, the median time for a white person to get diagnosed after first presenting symptoms to a general practitioner (GP) was 55 days. Asian people had to wait 60 days, while Black people had to wait 61 days.
- The median wait time for white people to get a diagnosis for esophagogastric cancer was 53 days, while for Asian people it was 100 days, a wait time six weeks longer.
- The median wait time for white people to get a diagnosis for myeloma was 93 days, while for Black people it was 127 days.
A recent analysis of the National Health Service’s database has revealed that Asian and Black people in England are forced to wait longer for cancer diagnoses than white people.
Based on the NHS data review conducted by the University of Exeter and The Guardian, minority ethnic patients had to wait an extra six weeks to get diagnosed.
Filipino sports icon Lydia De Vega, once known as ‘Asia’s fastest woman,’ dies of cancer
- The Philippines’ track and field legend Lydia De Vega, who was once dubbed “Asia's fastest woman,” has died at age 57 after a four-year battle with breast cancer.
- De Vega is among the Philippines' most decorated athletes in history, having received numerous medals from the Southeast Asian Games, Asian Games and Asian Athletics Championships.
- In the ‘80s, she held the throne as Asia's fastest woman for winning the 100m dash events in the 1982 and 1986 Asian Games.
- Her daughter Stephanie announced the news of her passing on Wednesday night via Facebook post.
- De Vega has kept a low profile since her retirement in 1994 and made her last public appearance in 2019 as one of the flagbearers during the opening ceremony of the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
Filipino sports icon Lydia De Vega, who was once dubbed “Asia’s fastest woman,” has died after a four-year battle with breast cancer.
The track and field legend succumbed to her illness on Wednesday at age 57, according to an announcement by her daughter Stephanie.
Women who eat preserved foods have increased breast cancer risk, Hong Kong study finds
- A study published in Cancer Prevention Research by Hong Kong researchers on Aug. 1 posits that women who consume preserved foods have an increased breast cancer risk.
- The research involved Hong Kong residents composed of 1,307 women with breast cancer and 1,050 age-matched controls without cancer.
- The participants were asked to answer a standardized questionnaire to provide their dietary information, including the amount of preserved foods they consume.
- Based on their findings, consuming cured meat resulted in a 32 percent increase among the women in their risk of developing breast cancer. The risk increased more than double among women who consumed cured meat at least once per week than those who did not.
- The scientists noted that while there is reason to believe that cured meat consumption suggests a potential novel risk factor for breast cancer, larger studies are needed to further validate their findings.
Women who consume cured meats and other preserved foods are more likely to develop breast cancer, a new study from local researchers in Hong Kong suggests.
The study, published in Cancer Prevention Research on Aug. 1, looked into how preserved foods that may contain nitrate and nitrite might increase the risk of developing breast cancer.
Issey Miyake, trailblazing Japanese designer renowned for pleats, dies of liver cancer at 84
Issey Miyake, the influential Japanese fashion designer known for his pleated style creations and Steve Job’s signature black turtleneck, died of liver cancer at 84 years old on Friday.
A private funeral service was held with his friends and family, his office stated. Per Miyake’s wishes, a memorial ceremony will not be held.
Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson gives prized Kobe Bryant photo to fan with rare type of cancer
- Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson, 32, gave a special autographed photo of the late Kobe Bryant to Joseph Tagaban, a 15-year-old fan diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.
- Tagaban, who lives in Petersburg, Alaska, was filmed meeting his idol through Make-A-Wish earlier this month.
- During ESPN’s latest “My Wish” episode, which was released on Wednesday, the two can be seen spending a day together shooting hoops, driving around in Thompson’s convertible and getting ice cream.
- “I just know he’s going through a hard time and I know he’ll cherish that photo,” Thompson said after gifting his prized possession to Tagaban. “Just such a special photo of mine and I decided to hook him up. He’s a great young man, he deserves it.”
- Tagaban’s life was turned upside down in December 2020 after doctors performed a biopsy on a lesion in his mouth and eventually diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a type of cancer rarely seen in adolescents.
- After Tagaban returned home in November 2021 following a chemotherapy breakthrough, he started playing basketball again in January.
Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson gave his prized possession, a photo autographed by the late Kobe Bryant, to a young fan diagnosed with a rare type of cancer.
Joseph Tagaban, a 15-year-old from Petersburg, Alaska, was filmed meeting his idol through Make-A-Wish earlier this month. During ESPN’s latest “My Wish” episode, which was released on Wednesday, the two can be seen spending a day together shooting hoops, driving around in Thompson’s convertible and getting ice cream.
10-year-old girl becomes first in Taiwan to fully recover from leukemia via CAR T-cell therapy
- Ting-ting, a 10-year-old girl suffering from leukemia became the first in Taiwan to have been successfully treated with CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, a new form of immunotherapy, at National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH).
- CAR T-cell therapy became prominent in 2012 after 6-year-old American girl Emily Whitehead was successfully treated for her leukemia in a clinical trial.
- Ting-ting, who was diagnosed with pediatric B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia at age 6, initially received targeted chemotherapy for three years.
- When her leukemia recurred last year, her doctors recommended using CAR T-cell therapy, which involves the modification of the immune cells to make them attach to the specific cancer cell antigen.
- Ting-ting’s cancer went into complete remission soon after she was infused with CD19 CAR T-cells.
A 10-year-old girl with leukemia became the first in Taiwan to have been successfully treated with a new form of immunotherapy.
The patient, identified only as Ting-ting (亭亭), underwent CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy at the National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH).
Chinese doctors remove 24-pound stomach tumor from woman who complained of constant weight gain
- Doctors in eastern China removed an 11kg (24.25 pounds) stomach tumor from a woman’s stomach after she complained of continuous weight gain.
- The woman said that no matter how much she exercised, she would not stop gaining weight and her stomach began to expand.
- The benign tumor was removed on June 2, although doctors said that it could have posed a threat if it had not been removed due to pressure on the woman’s organs.
- To avoid similar circumstances, the woman’s doctor suggested that people receive regular medical check-ups.
Doctors discovered an 11 kg (24.25 pounds) tumor growing in a Chinese woman’s stomach after she complained of incessant weight gain and an expanding stomach.
The woman, surnamed Lin, from Jiangsu Province in eastern China, sought medical attention after continuously gaining weight despite strenuous exercise and being slim her entire life.
Oscar-winning musician and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto battling stage 4 cancer
- Ryuichi Sakamoto recently revealed that he underwent surgery to treat cancer that had spread to both of his lungs.
- Sakamoto pioneered the use of synthesizers as the keyboardist for the Yellow Magic Orchestra.
- As a composer, Sakamoto was inspired by artists like Claude Debussy to create expressive and impressionistic pieces.
- His score for the 1987 film, “The Last Emperor,” earned him an Oscar for Best Original Score.
- Sakamoto has vowed to keep pursuing his artistic endeavors until the end of his life.
Japanese musician and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto has revealed that he recently underwent surgery to treat cancer that had spread to both of his lungs.
Sakamoto detailed his diagnosis in an article titled “Living with Cancer,” published on Tuesday by monthly literary magazine “Shincho.”
Scientists say racism among causes of disproportionate cancer rates among Asian Americans
- The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) recently published a commentary on last year’s “Conversations on Cancer: Advancing Equity in Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities: Racism and Injustice” meeting by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Oncology Center of Excellence.
- “Asian Americans are unique as the first U.S. population to experience cancer as the leading cause of death,” the authors point out. “Bigotry against Asian Americans, pervasive since the 19th century, but especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, is only exacerbating the cancer disparities that are costing Asian Americans their lives.”
- The authors further highlighted that while Asians are the fastest-growing racial population in the U.S. of the past three decades, there are a limited number of studies focused on Asian Americans.
- The researchers have called for an approach to research that includes “disaggregated data, assessment of the impact of lived experiences… and listening to community voices” to better represent the diversity among Asian American and Pacific Islander subgroups.
Seven researchers from across the U.S. recently released a joint commentary calling out the lack of cancer research focusing on Asian Americans, who are disproportionately affected by the disease.
On Tuesday, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published a commentary based on last year’s “Conversations on Cancer: Advancing Equity in Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities: Racism and Injustice” virtual meeting by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Oncology Center of Excellence.
Vietnamese family finds support online amid mother’s battle with stage 4 breast cancer
- My Ngoc Nguyen was diagnosed with stage 4 secondary breast cancer at the end of February and has since been in treatment at the University of Michigan Hospital.
- The local and online communities have stepped up to donate to the family’s GoFundMe, which the family has said made “a huge difference in care” for their mother.
- With the donations received, the Nguyen family is hoping to provide My Ngoc with integrative medicine and a home that is located closer to the treatment center with a bathroom on the first floor.
A Vietnamese family has been finding love and support from strangers and the University of Michigan community amid their mother’s battle with stage 4 breast cancer.
According to the Nguyen family’s GoFundMe page, which has a goal of $100,000, Haley Huong and her brother An Nguyen found out that their mother, My Ngoc Nguyen, was diagnosed with stage 4 secondary breast cancer at the end of February.
‘My mother gave birth to me, I owe it to her’: Chinese boy overcomes fear of pain to donate bone marrow
- Cao Xuanyi, a 10-year-old boy from China's Anhui Province who “used to be particularly scared of pain,” volunteered to be his mother’s bone marrow donor.
- “Knowing it was to save his mother, he didn’t say a word,” the boy's father, Cao Song, said.
- The boy’s mother, Cao Meixia, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in July 2020. Her condition reportedly stabilized following five sessions of chemotherapy, but in December 2021, the family later discovered that she had relapsed.
- The safest option the woman could purportedly take is a bone marrow transplant, but the woman’s brother was not a match. The only person who could donate is her son.
- Doctors reportedly had to draw 30 vials of the boy’s blood to see if he was a suitable donor for his mother.
- “Because my mother gave birth to me, I owe it to her,” the boy said. “I want my mom to accompany me home so that I can be happy every day.”
A 10-year-old boy from China who “used to be particularly scared of pain” has voluntarily undergone a grueling bone marrow matching test and given over two dozen vials of his blood to test his compatibility with his sick mother.
Cao Xuanyi, who lives with his family in Anhui Province, reportedly traveled over 400 kilometers (248.55 miles) to the city of Suzhou in Jiangsu Province with his grandfather for further medical testing on March 7 after his first sample revealed him to be a potential bone marrow donor for his mother.
Chinese girl, 10, sells sweet potatoes on the street to help pay for 2-year-old sister’s cancer treatment
- A 10-year-old Chinese girl nicknamed “Little Mei” has been selling sweet potatoes on the street to collect money for her younger sister’s cancer treatment.
- Little Mei’s parents have been in Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, since May 2021 while she stays in Zibo with her grandmother.
- Her mother, Li Ling, was unaware that her daughter had been selling sweet potatoes until a stranger called to put in a large order of them.
- “Little Tong,” Little Mei’s 5-year-old sister, occasionally tags along and thanks customers who buy the sweet potatoes.
- Their 2-year-old sister Qiqi was diagnosed with leukemia in May 2021 and is currently in critical condition with heart damage caused by chemotherapy.
A 10-year-old Chinese girl in Zibo, a city in China’s Shandong Province, has been selling sweet potatoes on the street to help pay for her 2-year-old sister’s cancer treatment.
Nicknamed “Little Mei,” the 10-year-old can be seen in Sohu News footage posted to Weibo wearing her school uniform while completing her homework and sitting outside by a bundle of sweet potatoes marked for sale.
