Cancer News Blog

It is well known that TED (www.ted.com) is devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talk. Most of the lectures are focused on Technology, Entertainment and Design, and hence known as TED lectures.

We rounded up all the best TED lectures on cancer. These videos range
from innovation in cancer research, riveting stories from cancer
survivors and even ingenious approach about fighting cancer with
Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi!

There are a total of 26 videos in this collection. Checkout these powerful and informative collection!

February 4, 2016 is World Cancer Day. A truly global event taking place every year, World Cancer Day unites the world’s population in the fight against cancer. Taking place under the tagline ‘We can. I can.’, World Cancer Day 2016-2018 will explore how everyone – as a collective or as individuals – can do their part to reduce the global burden of cancer.

Just as cancer affects everyone in different ways, all people have
the power to take various actions to reduce the impact that cancer has
on individuals, families and communities.

World Cancer Day is a chance to reflect on what you can do, make a
pledge and take action. Whatever you choose to do ‘We can. I can.’ make a
difference to the fight against cancer.

For more information on World Cancer Day, please visit http://www.worldcancerday.org/. Watch 2016 World Cancer Day video.

Cancer research has received the much needed boost from President Obama and Vice President Biden. During his state of the union speech on January 12, 2016 President Obama announced their commitment to cancer research.

Since losing his son to brain cancer last year, Vice President Biden has been working closely with American Association of Cancer Research
and top cancer researchers and physician-scientists to learn about the
current state of cancer research and treatment and potential
opportunities to advance the pace of progress. Thanks to his lobbying it
helped secure a $2-billion increase for National Institute of Health in this year’s spending legislation. National Cancer Institute is part of NIH.

Last October Vice President Biden said the country needs “a moonshot”
to cure cancer and vowed to spend his next 15 months in office to
advance this cause. During his address President Obama nominated Vice
President Biden in charge of carrying out the “moonshot” to find a cure
and announced “For the loved ones we’ve all lost, for the family we can
still save, let’s make America the country that cures cancer once and
for all”.

Let us hope for and look forward to good things to come out of this commitment in the near future.

Read the full coverage in USA Today, NBC News, and The Hill. Read about Vice President Biden’s plans and next steps in his blog post in Medium.

We have all been there – not finding the right thing to say or not knowing how to help a friend or relative who is diagnosed with cancer.

Elena Miller was diagnosed with cancer in 2013 when she was doing psychiatry residency in UCLA. She writes about her experience in her blog http://zenpsychiatry.com/. She has put together a quick start guide to help with communication. It addresses the needs of both the patients and their friends and family members.

She points out that when a person first gets a cancer diagnosis, they’re often so overwhelmed they have no idea how to ask for help or what to ask for — but they sure need it. If you have a friend or family member with cancer you want to help, don’t make the mistake of making a vague, questionably-sincere offer.

You can find her quick start guide in CIF’s website at this link. Here are some of the excerpts from her guide.

Send a quick email, text, or message saying you’re thinking of them. Add “No need to respond” to the end of your message—they’ll appreciate hearing from you without feeling the need to do anything in return.

Do not make their cancer about you! Do not give advice but listen. Avoid speaking in cliches like “everything happens for a reason”, “every cloud has a silver lining”.

Cancer isn’t contagious—give your friend a hug to let them know you’re on their side.

This is a common myth among people particularly in the Indian sub-continent. When you visit Adyar Cancer Institute in Chennai one of the prominent signs you will see is to emphasize that cancer is not contagious. There is no risk of getting cancer by attending to or taking care of a cancer patient.

National Cancer Institute (http://www.cancer.gov/), US federal agency for cancer research also confirms it. According to NCI cancer is not a contagious disease that easily spreads from person to person. The only situation in which cancer can spread from one person to another is in the case of organ or tissue transplantation. A person who receives an organ or tissue from a donor who had cancer in the past may be at increased risk of developing a transplant-related cancer in the future. However, that risk is extremely low—about two cases of cancer per 10,000 organ transplants. Doctors avoid the use of organs or tissue from donors who have a history of cancer.

In some people, cancers may be caused by certain viruses (some types of human papillomavirus, or HPV, for example) and bacteria (such as Helicobacter pylori). NCI also confirms that while a virus or bacterium can spread from person to person, the cancers they sometimes cause, cannot spread from person to person.

It is a well known fact that the fight against cancer requires early detection and treatment. India Today magazine published an article last year that covered several aspects of the state of cancer in India. It covers what are the danger signs that Indians should look for. It also talks about the missed cues by many Indians in detecting and treating cancer early. The report highlights the statistics on the grim reality of cancer deaths in India many of which could be prevented with early detection and treatment. By using examples of celebrities who fought against cancer and survived the article encourages Indians to be aware of the benefits of early detection. The article asks “Hasn’t Koirala fought her way back to recovery? Didn’t we witness Yuvraj Singh, 32, powering back to cricket after beating back germ cell cancer? Hasn’t actor Lisa Ray, 41, bounced back to a winning career after her aggressive bone marrow myeloma?”. Read the full article by India Today here.

Picture courtesy: India Today.