FDA approves first use of novel immune system drug for cancer

A father-daughter duo recalls their personal trauma over the tragedy of losing their closest person to terminal cancer and struggling to help her cope with the pain. A case for respecting end of life choices of a patient and access to Palliative Care.  THE HUSBAND SPEAKS... Jayanta Sinha She is my wife, my child’s mother – the most beloved one – who passed away at the age of 49 years after a painful journey of seven long months. Smriti Kana was always a good student and aspired to be a…

Madam Soh Chin Hong, 47, fought the good fight against cancer with her husband by her side, until the end. HCA Hospice Care, Singapore shares this heartbreakingly beautiful story of a loving couple. “She was very loving, a very righteous and passionate person”, said her husband and caregiver, Mr Eric Yeo, 47. The loving couple, who have been married for 20 years, first met while they were studying in NAFA School of the Arts. Eric reminisces fondly, “She didn’t like me at the beginning…

Obesity or being overweight is the causative factor for several chronic non-communicable diseases including heart disease, diabetes and certain types of cancers #tbl tr td:nth-child(0) { { width:44px!important; } #tbl tr td:nth-child(1) { { width:141px!important; } #tbl tr td:nth-child(2) { { width:77px!important; } #tbl tr td:nth-child(3) { { width:44px!important; } #tbl tr td:nth-child(4) { { width:141px!important; } #tbl tr td:nth-child(5) { { width:77px!important; } A dramatic increase in…

Shivaji Lande was shocked when he was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus, an uncommon but serious type of malignancy that affects the food pipe and makes swallowing difficult. Read about his struggle to survive and how he dealt with his worries. I was 34 years, happily married and working for an engineering company in Bangalore, when my world turned hellish. This happened in October 2014. One night, while having dinner I suddenly noticed difficulty swallowing and began coughing while…

Smoking is known to cause and effect many systems in our body with adverse consequences, but how does it affect fertility in women? Dr Sarita Bhalerao, an established OBGYN from Mumbai helps us understand the subject in more detail. 1. Is smoking a growing concern for infertility in women? Smoking and consumption of tobacco have in general been a growing concern for women all over the world. It is a major health problem affecting developing countries especially amongst the youth…

Rita Banik, founder of Race to Rein in Cancer pays a touching tribute to her co-founder Rashmi Kapoor and how as she helplessly watched Rashmi die, she made a pledge to not let RACE die. Her memories continue to inspire Rita Banik.  Hoori Noorani of Pakistan pays a tribute to her friend and artist Ramesh K Pathik and Aslam Javed Siddique and Bhanu Pandey also chip in and share their memories of the last days of Posti Baba   

Cancer patients are prone to infections and the home environment must be kept clean. Precautions to follow if they are on chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatment. Dr. Shital Raval shares practical tips for cancer patients and their caregivers to follow with cancer at home.  SELF: Keep a pair of gloves handy at home and wear them to clean any spills, cleansing surfaces or disposing trash. Remember to wash hands with soap before and after wearing gloves! Use antibacterial or bleaching…

Rajalakshmi Siva, caregiver of a person with cancer and co-author of 'When Thoughts Invade the Cancer Conqueror’, recounts her days of a caregiver and how she coped with it right through the ordeal. What started the journey to hell and back was a pool of blood with a few drops of urine trailing him all the way up the driveway, to the parking lot, into the lift, and into the house and thence to the washroom. It was reminiscent of a silent scream that seemed to reverberate: Hell is empty and all…

Nilakanta Siva recounts how his smoking habit caught up with him later in life well after he had kicked the habit. He now lives without a bladder, prostate, several lymph nodes and a solitary kidney. And wishes he had not started smoking. “Hey, Siva, you know what. They are asking for volunteers to join the National Cadet Corps,” shouted Vijay. You get credits for the hours you spend at NCC. You need not even attend Biology classes, totally exempt.” “That is great. Long live the NCC option.” We…

Why become a victim of cancer and other ugly diseases, when life has so much to offer, says Dr Lancelot Pinto, consultant respirologist and smoking cessation therapy specialist at Mumbai's PD Hinduja Hospital. How important is it to stop smoking? One cannot emphasize enough the benefits of stopping to smoke, both in terms of the gain in quality of life, and the prevention of smoking-associated illnesses, which cover a very wide spectrum. What is encouraging, however, is that…