- Pope to visit Belgium, Luxembourg in September
- Gold hits high as Iran shock triggers haven support
- Strikes pound Gaza as Israel voices 'duty' to expand Rafah incursion
- Russia tries playwright and director on terror charges
- Iran mourns president Raisi's death in helicopter crash
- Attack on tourists rocks fledgling Afghanistan tourism sector
- Paralympics should put disability back on global agenda, says IPC chief
- South Africa's top court strikes Zuma from ballot
- Crunch time looms for BHP's bid buy Anglo American
- Kane to face old club Spurs for first time in Seoul
- Markets rise as traders cheered by China property plan
- Black farmers in Brazil changing views on coffee production
- Iran's President Raisi declared dead in helicopter crash
- Australia police arrest 554 in domestic violence crackdown
- South Korea, Britain host AI summit with safety top of agenda
- New president Lai vows to defend Taiwan's democracy
- Forever fad: Rubik says his cube 'reminds us why we have hands'
- Trump eyes witness stand as trial draws to a close
- Ryanair annual profit jumps on higher demand, fares
- High-priced Cummins, Starc face off as IPL enters playoffs
- Iran media says President Raisi died in helicopter crash
- Dominican Republic President Abinader re-elected to 2nd term
- New Taiwan president Lai hails 'glorious' democracy
- New Caledonia separatists defy French efforts to unblock roads
- Timberwolves knock out defending champion Nuggets, Pacers oust Knicks
- Trump biopic hits Cannes Film Festival
- Iran President Raisi's helicopter found, 'no sign of life'
- Three talking points ahead of 2024 French Open
- 'Haikyu!!': Comic heroes fuel Japan Olympic volleyball manga mania
- Timberwolves rally to knock defending champion Nuggets out of NBA playoffs
- London court set to rule on Julian Assange extradition
- Business and Bollywood votes in India election
- Pope calls anti-migrant attitudes at US border 'madness'
- Mexico aims to be big economic winner from US-China tensions
- Uncertain future for thousands after deadly Brazil floods
- Schauffele makes the putt of his life for first major win
- Wirtz returns to help unbeaten Leverkusen chase history
- Search for Iran's President Raisi after helicopter goes missing
- DeChambeau's powerful putting has him excited for US Open
- Taiwan to swear in new president as China pressure grows
- Atalanta can end 61-year wait for trophy in Europa League final
- Schauffele birdies final hole to capture PGA for first major win
- Guardiola casts doubt over long-term Man City future
- Hollywood icons Costner and Demi Moore make Cannes comeback
- Pacers shoot down Knicks to reach NBA Eastern Conference finals
- Schauffele birdies final hole, captures first major at PGA Championship
- McLaughlin powers to Indy 500 pole in all-Penske front row
- Monaco footballer tapes over LGBTQ badge
- Korda wins sixth LPGA title of year with win at Liberty National
- Pacers put on shooting show to down Knicks, reach NBA Eastern Conference finals
Princess Catherine cancer: What is preventative chemotherapy?
Catherine, Princess of Wales, announced on Friday that she is undergoing preventative chemotherapy to treat cancer discovered after she had abdominal surgery.
While the exact situation is difficult to determine because the 42-year-old princess did not disclose the nature of the cancer, here is an explanation of preventative chemo.
- What is chemotherapy? -
Chemotherapy is the use of powerful drugs to stop cancerous cells from growing, dividing and creating more cells. There are a large number of kinds of chemotherapy, depending on the cancer, how far it has spread and the treatment regime.
Because these treatments cannot distinguish between different cells, they end up killing some cells that do good, such as white blood cells, causing some side effects.
- Why preventative? -
Preventative chemotherapy is often used after surgery to "decrease the likelihood" that cancer will return, Kimmie Ng, an oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in the United States told AFP.
Even after successful surgery, "microscopic cancer cells can remain lurking in the body and can't be detected by current tests," said Lawrence Young, molecular oncology professor at the University of Warwick.
It is "a bit like mopping a floor with bleach when you've spilt something on it", Andrew Beggs, a cancer surgeon at the University of Birmingham, told the Science Media Centre.
- Side effects? -
How chemo affects people can vary depending on the particular cancer, treatment and person.
But common side effects include fatigue, nausea, diarrhoea, loss of appetite and an increased risk of getting an infection.
Some rarer, more severe side effects can include sepsis and damage to vital organs.
- How long? -
Treatment schedules again can vary widely, but a traditional chemo regime would be delivered in four to six blocks, said Bob Phillips, paediatric oncology professor at the University of York.
A cycle may last 21 days and "consists of a day or few days of chemo, then time for the body to recover from it," Phillips said.
Regimes of preventative chemo tend to last between three to six months.
It can take people weeks or months to recover from the treatment.
- More cancer among young people? -
Beggs emphasised that "young onset cancer is by no means rare".
"I run a clinic for early-onset cancer in adults and we are seeing more and more people in their 40s with cancer," he said.
Shivan Sivakumar, an oncology expert at the University of Birmingham said "there is an epidemic currently" of people under 50 getting cancer.
"It is unknown the cause of this, but we are seeing more patients getting abdominal cancers," he said.
Ng pointed out that research from the American Cancer Society released this year showed that younger adults were the only age group in which cancer increased between 1995 and 2020.
"There is an urgent need for research into the causes of this uptick," Ng said.
Research published in the BMJ journal last week said that cancer cases among people aged 35-69 in Britain also rose over the last quarter of a century.
But deaths from cancer fell by a significant margin.
"The younger you are, the more likely you are to tolerate chemotherapy well," Sivakumar said.
Younger people also more likely to survive cancer.
A combination of early diagnosis and better treatments has led to "survival rates doubling in the last 50 years", Young said.
"An incidental finding of cancer during surgery for other conditions is often associated with the tumour being detected at an early stage when subsequent chemotherapy is much more effective," he added.
- Check yourself? -
Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said that such high-profile cancers can serve as a reminder for people to think about their own health.
"If people spot something that's not normal for them or isn't going away, they should check with their GP," she said.
"It probably won't be cancer. But if it is, spotting it at an early stage means treatment is more likely to be successful."
D.Schneider--BTB