LyrArc Article Gist
Immunotherapy drug VIR-5500 shows good results in treating prostate cancer and lowering PSA in patients.

LyrArc Article Gist
"I feel rather a lot of hope that if Andy Burnham does become prime minister, he will bring the human understanding with him that he will have acquired when studying English at Cambridge 35 years ago," says University of Cambridge chancellor Smith. "He may well be our first prime minister to have studied English at university, and that would be a very good thing." A good understanding of Chaucer and Shakespeare is a way to understand human nature, life's uncertainties, the English language from its origins and its development over a thousand years, understanding the history that went with the language, and the religious undertones of society from the days of the Tynsdale Bible, what moved people and how it turned out over many centuries. This is very useful for a British prime minister. The education just supplements all the positive aspects of the person, and helps him grow into a fuller person. This is why you have English majors leading to further education in other fields and in important contributions from science to space, physics to the law and business. It has just become hugely undervalued in the last 4 decades leading to some of the gaps we find in better grasp of economics, politics, physics, science, law, business, that have led to the Nation's relative decline since the 1980's. Hank Paulson, Treasury Secretary, Angelo Giamatti, Baseball Commissioner, Steven Spielberg, movie producer, Clarence Thomas at the US Supreme Court, Anne Mulcahy, CEO of Xerox, Mario Cuomo, governor of New York, and Harold Varmus Nobel prize winner in 1989 in medicine for his finding how genes origin in normal healthy cells that transform healthy cells into cancer cells, all had degrees in English. And many brought this passsion for language into other fields by adding degrees in law, medicine, science, other fields. How one can combine English with science is seen in the extraordinary example of the first American woman in space Sally Ride who had a degree in English alongside a degree in physics in 1973 and went on to get a PhD. in physics in 1978 from Stanford University. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Prime minister Netanyahu of Israel recovers from early stage prostate cancer after he is treated with radiation. His approach was to treat it right away. Netanyahu says- "I went in for a few short treatments, read a book, and continued working."

LyrArc Article Gist
Reggio Emilia and support for early childhood education attracts Princess Kate to make a visit to Italy in May 2026.  "Ciao Kate," nice public greeting for Kate in Reggio Emilia, Italy, welcoming her after cancer diagnosis and recovery.  This is the town where the Italian tricolor flag originated. It is also a town with a strong tradition of support for public services and education. Kate wants to create a global conversation on early childhood education. This is an important idea and part of the concepts behind the Movement for Global Literacy in Lyrarc. Literacy for a child in China is not much different in its basic idea from that of a child in Britain, India, Italy or America. And reading, knowledge of the outside world forms a critical part of this early education, little concepts that are built into larger concepts of the world.

LyrArc Article Gist
The NYT's Kristof gives this exceptional report on the use of cancer causing chemicals all around us in many consumer products. With the increased use of chemicals has come the tripling of asthma rates in the last 25 years, leukemia up by 1% a year, increasing obesity, and breast cancer rates increasing from 1% in 1975 to 12% today with only some of it from better detection. Doctors at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York, say American girls who had puberty at the age of 17 in 1800, now have puberty at the age of 14, even 12. Earlier menstrual cycles increase the risk of breast cancer because of increased exposure to estrogen. Studies show exposure to pesticides, PCB's and other cancer causing chemicals increase the risk of cancer, and a link to early puberty. Asian women moving to the U.S. are also experiencing higher rates of breast cancer as they move to societies with higher use of chemicals in daily life, say experts at Mt. Sinai. Poor eating habits and lifestyles with less exercize are also to blame, but chemicals also play a role. Americans are moving towards shunning packaged processed foods for fresh food in their diet, and more are learning the benefits of regular exercize, but the same degree of public awareness is lacking for the extensive use of chemicals in our consumer society. In other societies around the world that are copying us such as in China, India and Brazil, the situation is even worse, with the spread of a reckless idea that modernization requires jettisoning health safety concerns. Even a simple pizza box has PFAC's chemicals made to make the box resistant to grease. In 2015 where products are labeled environmentally friendly by large companies to attract buyers and build the right image in the minds of consumers, consumers asking questions and making better choices make a difference by offering a seal of approval. Carpets have chemicals, and most disposable plastic containers contain chemicals that could seep into the food if heated. The use of plastic containers and microwaves is common practice in todays society, where less cooking is done on the stove than in the period before 1960. The sheer size of the chemicals developed since 1950 is staggering- more than 80,000 chemicals according to the Children's Environmental Health Center at Mt. Sinai. And this Center says less than 20% have been tested for toxicity. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
A new test for Prostate Cancer, a test with high accuracy being developed in Britain- in it are proteins shed by prostate tumors in urine are tested.  This test is planned with testing of 200,000 people in Britain with funding of 42 million pounds. It has 0.92 accuracy compared to 0.62-0.75 for the conventional PSA Test. This test tests a different set of proteins. PSA Test is known to have false positives and is not accurate. This will revolutionize the testing for prostate cancer, one of the main cancers affecting men.

LyrArc Article Gist
"Cancel Culture"- how Democrats and Republicans Conservatives and Liberals see the shaming of people for their views on social media- it is having accountability for some, and seen as censorship or punishment by others. Pew Researchers show the views of different people by age, gender, political affiliation, on the idea of "cancel culture." Some say does it even help doing this on a platform like social media as it tends to exaggerate and is rarely helpful to educate people and create real conversations to increase knowledge. When people are being shamed for racism or sexism, there is little idea of getting people to change or for patient forgiveness, or educating on why certain behaviours are wrong. Yale University's 58 page document on where it went wrong on "holistic admissions" and "cancel culture," is an example of how "cancel culture" when adopted inadvertently at universities and colleges across the Nation can be misguided and not result in positive actions. In the process can this denigrate the achievements of western civilization through the Renaissance of ideas, the awakening of knowledge in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, the Enlightenment, and the Scientific Revolution that resulted from this. Followed by the Industrial Revolution unique in Europe and the US that created the Modern World and the standards of living, of literacy, education and healthcare, and transportation we know today. This is the question Yale and other universities are asking today in 2026. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Prostate cancer is becoming the most common cancer. Here are some useful tips for tackling this health problem men face today. 

Diet should include fresh fruits, nuts and vegetables. Reduce dairy to three portions (cheese, milk), limit calcium intake to daily requirement, and cut down on animal based protein and fat. 

Fat building up in the thighs and other parts of the body including waistline increases risk. This makes it essential to limit BMI to 30 and waist inches around 37 or close to this. Regular exercize lifts the mood and helps cut fatty tissue reducing the risk of prostate as well as other cancers.

LyrArc Article Gist
Current lung cancer screening guidelines and two third of cancer patients at Northwestern Medicine missed 2025.

LyrArc Article Gist
The importance of better targeting of high risk groups for PSA prostate cancer testing, as too few tests for fear of invasive treatment is also seen as not working.

LyrArc Article Gist
Kate Middleton gives the Wimbledon trophy to Carlos Alcaraz at the All England Tennis Club. She is recovering from cancer and under treatment.

LyrArc Article Gist
Spain and other countries are facing n increasing number of cases from other illnesses including cancer from the concentration of health system resources on coronavirus.

LyrArc Article Gist
The effect of a sudden health crisis such as cancer on the finances of Americans leading to capsizing and losing everything is shown here in the WSJ. In 2024 this comes after the pandemic has already affected finances of working people. 

LyrArc Article Gist
The increase in colorectal cancer, one form of cancer, to more people under 50 years shows the role of healthy and unhealthy habits in food and exercise in causing cancer. People with bad food habits, smoking, obesity, are more at risk of cancer in general. This report says recent generations have been more exposed to red meat, ultra processed foods and sugary beverages- it is a comment on the times and habits that had deteriorated after 1980's and the lack of awareness of the dangers until the pandemic hit hard.  The overuse of painkillers and other medications and the impact on good and bad bacteria in the gut of lack of careful use of medications. It also points to the need for reducing chemicals in the environment as the effects can be seen in higher cancer rates. It must be of the highest importance that all people in America in every region of the country be treated in the same way, not leaving chemicals to be dumped in areas that are poor or neglected- as more cases are seen this report says in the cities and towns along the Mississippi river, in southeastern states, and it shows the impact of trace chemicals of nickel, arsenic, and chromium from industrial plants, chemical plants, and coal production. Forever chemicals can be found as some reports show also in peaceful looking landscapes in America- such are the dangers unless the people of America insist that their leaders fight these wars before culture wars and over other issues not central to the welfare of all Americans in every part of this Nation. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Biden had his PSA test for prostate cancer about 11 years back in 2014, an astounding fact given that he ran for the presidency in 2019. The nation did not know that all this time this cancer was developing and would affect the manner in which the nation's affairs would be conducted. Putting an unelected Vice President into the White House also has its own serious drawbacks. 

LyrArc Article Gist
The shift to finding new drugs for cancer. Pfizer has a development team of 10000 researchers in one location near San Diego, California, to develop new drugs for cancer even though some experts say the search for cancer drugs is devilishly complicated. The causes of cancer at the molecular level are complicated and vary even from person to person for the same cancer. Says one expert this also raises questions about the benefit to people as a large amount of resources are shifted to areas like cancer that affect fewer people than other diseases, and where the existing drugs have only prolonged life marginally, in some cases even as low as a few months at a huge cost of thousands of dollars. Tarceva for pancreatic cancer for example only prolongs life by 12 days at a cost of $3500 per month. 860 cancer drugs are being tested in clinical trials according to the trade group of the pharmaceutical industry. This is more than twice the number for heart disease and stroke, and nearly twice the number for AIDS and all other infdectious diseases combined, and nearly twice the number for Alzheimier's and all neurological dieases combined....

LyrArc Article Gist
Epidemic of betel nut addiction that affects China is the subject of this report in The Times. Chinese doctors study in 2017 shows that oral cancer patients related to use of the betel nut for chewing in recreational use could reach 1 million b y 2030. Betel nut is being banned in some cities. Advertising of betel nut online or on television is now banned. Over $10 billion is made by the betel nut producers and it has become a part of the local economy in the province of Hunan says this report. This shows the problems of public health that remain to be tackled in China, as well as India, after achievements in sanitation tackled the basic problems of disease. Tobacco use is a major problem in both countries, and a major danger to public health, with awareness happening only now.

LyrArc Article Gist
The major part of 4.5 million deaths have been saved in the US just by the decline in smoking. About 4.5 times the losses during Covid pandemic 4.5 million American saved lives just from the efforts to cut smoking of the last 2 decades, and better cancer screening and treatments. Stopping cigarette advertising saved millions of lives. It means letting processed food companies advertise freely, the FDA not doing its job by letting  companies use Red Dyes in food, and lobbyists for plastics companies not stopping PFAS contamination are all costing American lives in the hundreds of thousands. Cancer rate for women keeps increasing as men cancer rate drops. Men took up smoking in large numbers and the decline in smoking had a bigger impact for men's cancer rate. The overall cancer rate has dropped by 34% since 1991 largely because of the decline in smoking. Men's cancer is now almost even with women in 2021 compared to men having 1.6 times the rate of women in 1992. For women increase in breast feeding and having children at a younger age reduced some kinds of breast cancers, as women had children later, and higher use of alcohol, physical inactivity, obesity added to increase in cancer rates. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Flaws in the grant system that makes research cautious and plodding. Some grants just keep laboratories busy for another year with little prospect for new discoveries. The situation in cancer research.

LyrArc Article Gist
Reports from the Sixth China North-South Lung Cancer Summit meeting of 300 experts focusses on controlling tobacco use and promoting early detection and treatment of lung cancer. Lung cancer is now the leading form of cancer in China, with 22.7% of cancer deaths each year. Currently about 1 million die in China from smoking related illness each year. CCTV reports this is increasing by 26.9% a year. Causes cited are aging population, air pollution, and widespread smoking. About one in three of China's people smoke, or about 350 million. Awareness of the dangers of tobacco use is not high outside two or three major cities. China manufactures about 1.7 trillion cigarettes a year, according to CCTV, and tobacco contributes 7-10 percent of state revenues.

LyrArc Article Gist
The advice to reduce cancer risk is not surprisingly the same from D. Michael Sekeres of the University of Miami- stay away from sugar, alcohol and tobacco products and take in more fruits, vegetables and whole grains, ancient grains and exercise regularly. The magnitude of what this would achieve on a a national scale when food habits have gone downhill for decades is what is also at stake. It would do what nothing else could do for the nation's health on a massive scale which is why it is the right thing to put much of our focus on, to create a culture that put much importance on the quality and kinds of food, on artificial vs natural, on food grown in good environments, on local vs shipped long distances, on processing vs not processing, all the time thinking of one's own health and what it will do for the quality of life we live. Just a fraction of the savings in medical care would pay for education and parks, green areas in neighborhoods, public health services, high levels of sanitation, leading to better well being that leads to more productive and intelligent citizens. It would lower the levels of multiple diseases and create a healthy society. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Young people are having higher cancer rates by 2024 and this is linked to the higher use of alcohol and less fruits and vegetables more processed meat in their diets. Older people are seen as having lower cancer rates by comparison. Rates of gastrointestinal cancer for young people are increasing all over the world. Each generation of young people under 50 has a higher risk than the one before.

Light pollution from cell phones laptops and other devices is also suspected as it disturbs the body's internal clock, the circadian rhythm. Plastics small particles that get into water and air are also suspected.