Cancer

Bernadette Kapini is a recent breast cancer survivor feeling the burden of this.

She was forced to stop her chemotherapy only three months into it, after being told the medicine stock at the Port Moresby General Hospital ran out.

Kapini had undergone a mastectomy at the Pacific International Hospital in June 2017, where one of her breasts was surgically removed.

She began her chemotherapy treatment with the Port Moresby General Hospital’s Obstetrics and Gynaecology division in July.

Smith, who stood down from the national team following the Rugby Championship, told Fairfax that he found about his prostate cancer during the tournament, but he and his wife decided to keep it quiet.

60 year old Smith had an operation in December and says the news has been very positive since.

Smith has plans to do some coaching advisory work in both Japan and Italy.

This is about healthy lifestyle choices and begins way before being diagnosed with cancer.

It is primary prevention.

Toka Jnr said the curative aspect of cancer (treating cancer) is expensive; not just in PNG but in the world.

“We only have one cancer unit in the country that does radiotherapy. There are other hospitals also that do chemo and surgical which we’re very fortunate. But once again, the options are very limited and this is where prevention is very important,” he said.

But amidst the fear, Dr Suresh Venkita, medical director at the Pacific International Hospital reminds people that there is still hope.

He says cancer is one area greatly researched even today, and there are advancements on cure and prevention, targeted specifically for before the cancer forms.

This, he says, allows for early detection, prevention as much as possible, or for diagnosis, treatment and survival of the cancer.

“We are trying to take away fear of the cancer and bring back hope and confidence,” he said.

Gynaecologic cancer is an uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells that originate from the reproductive organs.

There are several types of gynaecologic cancers which include cervical, gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD), primary peritoneal, ovarian, uterine/endometrial, vaginal and vulvar cancers.

On behalf of the country, Pacific International Hospital is leading a walk on Sunday, September 24, to join the Globeathon to End Women’s Cancers.

They say it could make surgery to remove a tumour quicker, safer and more precise.

And they hope it would avoid the "heartbreak" of leaving any of the cancer behind.

Tests, published in Science Translational Medicine, suggest the technology is accurate 96% of the time.

The MasSpec Pen takes advantage of the unique metabolism of cancer cells.

Their furious drive to grow and spread means their internal chemistry is very different to that of healthy tissue.

The regulator - the US Food and Drug Administration - said its decision was a "historic" moment and medicine was now "entering a new frontier".

The company Novartis is charging $475,000 (£367,000) for the "living drug" therapy, which leaves 83% of people free of a type of blood cancer.

Doctors in the UK said the announcement was an exciting step forward.

The living drug is tailor-made to each patient, unlike conventional therapies such as surgery or chemotherapy.

It is called CAR-T and is made by extracting white blood cells from the patient's blood.

In 2008, her daughter's cancer came back for the third time. Hope was in her early 30s. They cried together visiting the funeral home, as Hope decided which kind of flowers she wanted at her own memorial. She wanted doves to be released.

Meanwhile, Hope's doctor couldn't find any past records of her cancer, a bone cancer known as Ewing's sarcoma. He asked Susan for the names of the doctors who had treated her over the past eight years.

Susan went through Hope's drawers and cabinets. Empty.

In his police testimony, Lukasz Herba said he got involved with the group behind the alleged kidnap near Milan because he had leukaemia.

Ms Ayling's lawyer Francesco Pesce has said the 20-year-old was told she would be sold in the Middle East "for sex".

Ms Ayling was allegedly held by a group called Black Death for five days.

She came home on Sunday, after talking to police investigators, 26 days after she flew to Milan for a photo shoot.

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