Cancer Danger

Added Info: Here is a document from MAKNA on Malaysian 2006 cancer statistics. WolframAlpha has some numbers too - see here.

Lately, I found myself hearing more and more about cancer. Just within the last week or so and right until this evening, I heard about a few people surrounding me diagnosed with cancer. The first person I wanted to mention is our own vice-chancellor. I do not know how much the outside world know that he had been diagnosed with cancer and had undergone surgery and chemotheraphy. Yet, I must say I find its inspiring to find him working hard as ever, trying to transform the university. I can't imagine myself if in the same situation (God forbid) will have the same strength as he is (and yet me complaining about my back and chest pains, blood pressure, blah, blah, blah - these are peanuts, I suppose). His physical appearance has really changed a lot after his chemotherapy - comparing when I saw him during a postgraduate fair sometime last year and early this year.

During his new year speech, last Friday I heard about another startling news about one of the Director of the Institute was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It was sad given that he leads a promising research centre. But the real startler was early this week; got to know that a professor in the Physics Department was diagnosed with lung cancer rather unexpectedly. Managed to drop by for a very short visit on the day I got the news since he was hospitalized in the Seremban KPJ Hospital. He was still in the ICU after an operation and was highly sedated. He momentarily open his eyes to see me standing and nodded. Can't described what I'm feeling - probably fear mostly. Then today, just before I was about to drive the car heading home received an SMS saying that one of my sister-in-law was diagnosed with cancer and is due for an operation this Thursday. I hope everything will go well and pray for her quick recovery.

So what is cancer and what causes it? You probably get a better explanation here, here and here (for an alternative view). Some graphic explanation is given below:




Here is an explanation of the stages of cancer that you will probably heard a lot when one talks about cancer:




Any way to prevent oneself from getting cancer? Here's a video that says eating healthily will help. I do not know how reliable this is but it sounds convincing:




Hope that we will be spared of this dangerous disease.