Category Archives: Cancer

UK membership of Dignitas soars by 24% as assisted dying in Scotland moves closer

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Bill being laid before Scottish parliament could, if approved, allow people in Britain to take their own lives within the law

UK membership of Dignitas, the Swiss assisted dying association, has jumped to 1,900 people – a 24% rise during 2023 – as an assisted dying bill is laid before the Scottish parliament.

People from the UK now make up the second largest group who have signed up to the organisation, which is based near Zurich and helps people take their own lives. The largest group is currently Germans, although they can now get help to end their lives at home after a 2020 court ruling.

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Blake Lively ‘mortified’ over Catherine joke after princess’s cancer news

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The US actor apologized for post poking fun at Princess of Wales while other celebs face criticism for mocking the royal

After the Princess of Wales announced on Friday that she is undergoing treatment for cancer, the US actor Blake Lively apologized to Catherine for joking about a manipulated family photograph that the latter recently published as speculation about her whereabouts ran rampant.

“I’m sure no one cares today but I feel like I have to acknowledge this. I made a silly post around the ‘Photoshop fails’ frenzy, and oh man, that post has me mortified today,” Lively wrote on Instagram. The star of Gossip Girl and A Simple Favor added: “I’m sorry. Sending love and well wishes to all, always.”

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Cancer charities praise ‘brave’ Princess of Wales for speaking about her diagnosis

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Cancer Research UK’s chief executive says high-profile cancer cases such as Catherine’s can help others to seek help early

Cancer charities have praised the Princess of Wales for her “brave” decision to speak out about her cancer diagnosis as a way to encourage others to get their symptoms checked.

In a video message released on Friday, Catherine, 42, spoke of how her condition was discovered after she underwent abdominal surgery in January. In the weeks that followed her procedure, wild rumours flew around her absence and silence – but she said she and her husband, Prince William, had needed time to explain the situation to their three children, George, 10, Charlotte, eight, and Louis, five.

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Coffee drinkers have much lower risk of bowel cancer recurrence, study finds

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Exclusive: Scientists say people with disease who drink two to four cups a day are less likely to see it return

People with bowel cancer who drink two to four cups of coffee a day are much less likely to see their disease come back, research has found.

People with the illness who consume that amount are also much less likely to die from any cause, the study shows, which suggests coffee helps those diagnosed with the UK’s second biggest cancer killer.

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Catherine, Princess of Wales, receiving chemotherapy treatment for cancer

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Royal says in recorded statement her condition was discovered after she had abdominal surgery in January

The Princess of Wales has disclosed that she has been diagnosed with cancer and is in the early stages of receiving chemotherapy treatment.

In a “personal message” filmed in the gardens of Windsor Castle by the BBC, Catherine told of her “shock” when her condition was discovered after she had major abdominal surgery in January.

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ABC broadcaster James Valentine ‘hopeful and terrified’ after oesophageal cancer diagnosis

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Sydney Afternoons’ host told listeners he will need surgery to remove his entire oesophagus and is taking several months off

Broadcaster and saxophonist James Valentine has revealed live on ABC radio that he has oesophageal cancer and is taking several months off to undergo surgery.

The host of Sydney’s Afternoons program, Valentine told his listeners the cancer was discovered after he “choked and retched” while eating curry at a party in December.

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UK researchers find way of diagnosing bowel cancer without biopsies

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PET scans can examine entire bowel before and during treatment, avoiding risks associated with taking tissue samples

Researchers in Glasgow have identified a new means of diagnosing and treating bowel cancer with imaging technology, avoiding the need for biopsies.

Biopsies require an invasive procedure with a number of health risks, such as infection, and are limited in what they can capture within a patient’s bowel.

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UK scientists working on breast cancer monitor fitted in bra

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Researchers at Nottingham Trent University hope device used at home will improve tracking of tumours

Scientists are developing a device that fits inside a bra and could monitor whether a breast cancer tumour is growing.

Researchers hope the device will provide a new non-invasive method of detecting tumour growth that patients can use “in the comfort of their own homes”.

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Sussex man doing well a year and a half after new brain cancer treatment

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Ben Trotman had an invasive growth of cells called a glioblastoma, which leaves patients with an average nine-month life expectancy

The only person in the world to receive a groundbreaking treatment for brain cancer is doing well almost a year and a half later, a charity has said.

Ben Trotman, 41, took part in a clinical trial that used immunotherapy to target his glioblastoma, an invasive growth of cells in the brain that gives an average life expectancy of nine months.

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Drug that could slow womb cancer to be rolled out by NHS in England

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Dostarlimab or Jemperli, an immunotherapy used alongside chemotherapy, could extend life expectancy

A drug that could improve the quality of life of hundreds of women with womb cancer will be rolled out on the NHS across England from Tuesday.

Dostarlimab, also known as Jemperli, is an immunotherapy that works by attracting specific proteins on the surface of cancer cells to help the immune system attack them.

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US ambassador Caroline Kennedy prepares for Shitbox Rally across outback Australia

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At a fundraising sausage sizzle ahead of the rally, Kennedy quoted the words of her father explaining why the US wanted to land a man on the moon

The US ambassador to Australia might become the first person to complete the charity Shitbox Rally with a blacked-out, armoured SUV in tow.

Caroline Kennedy is to swap her chauffeured BMW for the driver’s seat of beat-up Ford Falcon, driving from Adelaide to Perth in April in a car worth less than $1,500 to raise money for cancer research.

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Why does the UK lag behind on cancer care? – podcast

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Britain’s cancer survival rates are improving but the UK still lags behind comparable countries. The Guardian’s health editor, Andrew Gregory, reports

The announcement last week that King Charles had been diagnosed with cancer has been met with sympathy and support for the 75-year-old. But alongside the focus on what it means for his future role as monarch, it has also led to a closer examination of what cancer care looks like in the UK in 2024.

For many, such as 37-year-old Nathaniel Dye, it has meant a diagnosis that has come too late. He has stage 4 bowel cancer, which has spread to other parts of his body. Dye has been told that in similar cases only 10% of people survive five years.

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More than a third of cancer patients in England face potentially deadly delays

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Overall NHS figures show 6.37 million patients waiting for health treatment at end of December

More than a third of cancer patients in England are facing potentially deadly delays, leading doctors have said, with thousands of people forced to wait months to begin treatment.

There has also been a significant surge in people experiencing long waits in A&E, though the overall NHS waiting list continues to fall, according to the latest performance data for England.

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King Charles: Prince Harry to travel to UK to see father after cancer diagnosis – as it happened

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King Charles ‘wholly positive about treatment’ but will postpone public-facing duties

Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf said he wished the king a “speedy recovery” following his cancer diagnosis.

He said: “My thoughts and prayers are with His Majesty The King and I hope for a speedy recovery and return to public life.

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Charles’s cancer diagnosis will cast doubt on his future role

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The king’s illness comes just as he was making a mark and as his popularity was growing, and means postponing public duties

Last Monday, King Charles emerged from a private clinic alongside Queen Camilla to smile and wave to a small crowd.

The message that Buckingham Palace wished to convey was obvious – the monarch is strong and will carry on his duties, despite the health setback.

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Oesophageal cancer test ‘should be made more available in UK’

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Charities say deaths will be prevented if ‘sponge on a string’ test is widely adopted

A test that can detect oesophageal cancer at an earlier stage than current methods should be made more widely available to prevent deaths, charities have said.

The capsule sponge test, previously known as Cytosponge, involves a patient swallowing a dissolvable pill on a string. The pill then releases a sponge which collects cells from the oesophagus as it is retrieved.

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Indian model Poonam Pandey fakes death to raise cervical cancer awareness

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Reality TV star reveals social media stunt and says she is proud of what ‘death news has been able to achieve’

An Indian model who faked her own death in a publicity stunt to raise awareness about cervical cancer has defended her actions, saying in a social media post that she was proud of what her “death news has been able to achieve”.

Poonam Pandey, a 32-year-old reality TV star and former Bollywood actor who shot to fame in 2011 when she promised she would strip for the India cricket team if they won the Cricket World Cup, was said to have died on Friday.

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Presenter of Channel 4’s A Place in the Sun Jonnie Irwin dies at 50

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The TV personality, who also hosted the BBC show Escape to the Country, said in 2022 his lung cancer had spread to his brain

The TV presenter Jonnie Irwin has died aged 50, his agent has confirmed.

Irwin, who presented Channel 4’s A Place in the Sun and the BBC’s Escape to the Country, revealed in November 2022 that his lung cancer had spread to his brain and it was terminal.

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