Medical

On April 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved osimertinib (Tagrisso) for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 19 deletions or exon 21 L858R mutations, as detected by an FDA-approved test.

One of the key advances in cancer treatment is doctor’s ability to control side effects. “Even if it was your diet that caused the cancer, the tumour has been there for the past few decades, and a few days of changing your diet is not going to treat it.” There are so many common misconceptions people have about cancer…

What is the likelihood of an individual being struck by cancer? Is the incidence of cancer rising or is the higher incidence down to greater awareness and early screening? The most common cancers in Singapore? Why are these the most common? Are you seeing patterns in the incidence of cancer? What’s the prognosis for a cancer patient who gets timely treatment?

The Good News? Lung cancer is no longer the death sentence it was a decade or two ago. The bad news? More non-smokers are getting the disease. We are all well aware of the biggest downside of a smoking habit: lung cancer. It used to be a cancer with a poor prognosis, but the advent of technology…

Dr Lim feels that there are now many new options available to cancer patients. As this is a severe diagnosis that comes with serious life-changing connotation, the patients will require time and all-rounded discussion to gain sufficient understanding of their condition,” he said. “Every patient is different…

Few diseases are as dreaded and as prevalent as cancer. It’s the developed world’s greatest affliction, and one of the last frontiers of medicine that man has yet to conquer. But until that day comes, oncologists like Dr Lim Hwee Yong, senior consultant and director at Novena Cancer Centre, will continue to fight the good fight…,

As a young medical student more than 20 years ago, cancer is a disease that fascinates me. Cancer was becoming an important health condition in the developed world. A diagnosis of cancer has high impact upon the patient, the family and the society. The complexity of the disease garnered a lot of interest.

Neuroendocrine Cancer starts in the neuroendocrine system, which is made up of cells that integrate the characteristics of traditional endocrine cells (or hormone-producing cells) and nerve cells. Neuroendocrine cells are found throughout the body in organs such as the thyroid, lungs, pancreas, urogenital tract and gastrointestinal tract.

Consider for a second the possibility that cancer is already inside your body. Cellular damage takes place every day; if the mechanism that controls and repairs cell mutations breaks down, healthy cells become cancer. Factors such as exposure to chemicals, radiation, lifestyle, diet, or genetic predisposition can contribute to the snapping…