cancer

Health & Safety

Coronavirus Pandemic Brings Hundreds Of U.S. Clinical Trials To A Halt

4:15pm April 11, 2020

by Sydney Lupkin

COVID-19 has led to the suspension of many clinical studies of experimental treatments. About a quarter of the stopped trials involved new cancer treatments, an NPR analysis finds.

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Health & Safety

When Cancer And Coronavirus Collide: Fear And Resilience

7:01am March 22, 2020

by Morhaf Al Achkar

Cancer makes you face your mortality. Add in coronavirus and there's even more stress. What do people with cancer need to get by? And what can they teach us about coping?

A medical worker in a protective suit tends to a patient in a hospital in Wuhan, China.

Health & Safety

What Happens If You're Critically Ill In China — But Not With Coronavirus

1:46pm February 25, 2020

Residents say their relatives have been unable to get care for cancer, for childhood diseases and more as Wuhan and other cities put a priority on treating COVID-19 patients.

Human Interest

A New Me

7:46pm February 21, 2020

by Samuel Woo

The concept of mortality can be hard to grasp for children, especially young ones. On this Radio 101 story, student Samuel Woo explores how to move on with his life after a major loss rocks his world.

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Health & Safety

Progress On Lung Cancer Drives Historic Drop In U.S. Cancer Death Rate

7:08pm January 08, 2020

by Richard Harris

The U.S. cancer death rate dropped more than 2% between 2016 and 2017, the biggest single-year drop ever, according to the American Cancer Society. Better treatment for lung cancer is a factor.

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Geriatric oncologist Supriya Gupta Mohile meets with patient Jim Mulcahy at Highland Hospital in Rochester, N.Y. "If I didn't do a geriatric assessment and just looked at a patient I wouldn't have the same information," she says.

Health & Safety

A Cancer Care Approach Tailored To The Elderly May Have Better Results

11:20pm November 23, 2019

by Cheryl Platzman Weinstock

For older, often frail cancer patients, geriatric assessments can help doctors gauge the patients' physical, mental and functional capacity, and choose an appropriate treatment approach.

The preliminary results described Wednesday come from two patients with multiple myeloma and one with sarcoma. This was just a first safety test, the scientists say, and was not designed to measure whether such a treatment would work.

CRISPR Approach To Fighting Cancer Called 'Promising' In 1st Safety Test

7:50pm November 06, 2019

by Rob Stein

Attempts to use the gene-editing tool CRISPR to develop a treatment for cancer seem safe and feasible in the earliest findings from the first three patients. "So far, so good," scientists say.

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A blood transfusion bag hangs in an operating room in a hospital in the Republic of Congo. Most countries in sub-Saharan Africa have a huge gap between blood supply and demand, new research found.

Hospitals Around The World Have A Dire Shortage Of Blood

4:13pm October 22, 2019

by Tim McDonnell

The first global analysis of blood supply and demand finds that many developing countries are relying on risky emergency donations.

A woman rolls tobacco inside a tendu leaf to make a beedi cigarette at her home in Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh, India, on Wednesday, June 3, 2015. India's smokers favor cheaper options such as chewing and leaf-wrapped tobacco over cigarettes.

India Banned E-Cigarettes — But Beedis And Chewing Tobacco Remain Widespread

1:18pm October 09, 2019

India is the world's top consumer of smokeless tobacco — and has the world's highest number of oral cavity cancers.

New Research: China Is Winning Some Health-Care Battles — And Losing Others

7:01am October 05, 2019

by Susan Brink

A suite of new research shows the country beating infectious diseases over the last two decades. But deaths from lifestyle-related diseases like cancer and diabetes are on the rise.