I am very sorry to hear about this. I totally understand that this must have affected you majorly. I suggest that you spend a lot of time with your grandfather, whenever you get free time. Ask him about your childhood and share stories about your life with him. Do not let him know how you feel as this may upset him. Try your best to concentrate on your studies as much as you can, as I am sure your family will be very proud of you. As the doctor has mentioned that he is doing better, I want you to trust that things are better and not overthink this situation too much.

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World Rose Day has become increasingly significant in present times with the ever-higher prevalence of cancer. Celebrated on 22 September each year, World Rose Day aims to bring joy to the lives of cancer patients across the globe and to promote awareness about early identification and prevention. Did you know that this day was marked in remembrance of Melinda Rose Hathaway, a cancer patient from Canada?

On 14 February 1994, when Melinda was 12-years old, she was diagnosed with Askin’s Tumor, a rare form of blood cancer. In spite of the fact that the doctors had given her only six weeks of survival time, she fought the disease against all odds and lived for six more months. The courage and sheer determination with which Melinda withstood the deadly disease was amazing. During those six months, she spent her days living life to the fullest. She insisted on going to school almost every day and even went to camp for a week and had a great time.

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Do you know of a friend, family member or even a distant relative diagnosed with cancer? Unfortunately, most people answer ‘yes’ to that question. The statistics agree that around 1.3 million people are diagnosed with cancer every year in India, and 800,000 pass away. That’s over half the patients who were diagnosed. 

Such an alarming statistic is attributed to the financial toxicity of cancer treatment in India, wherein over 50% of patients consider or do drop out of chemotherapy. The average cost of the treatment is twice the annual income of the average Indian. The impact of this toxicity can be debt-accumulating for several generations, child labour within the family and even the need to work overtime or take up part-time jobs, sometimes even during chemotherapy. 

Shaken by this statistic, Varshini Vijay started looking up important stories and talking to patients. One such story is of Anchal Sharma who was diagnosed with third stage cancer. She faced financial difficulties initially, since she came from a humble family, with six people living in one room. She had to sell everything she had for her treatment and even borrowed money from her friends; in spite of this she hid her condition from her parents as she didn’t want to worry them. Strangers pitched in to help finance her treatment and provided support, too. While undergoing her treatment, she would talk to other patients, providing them with motivation and optimism. She would help provide meals to people even when she was unable to raise funds for meals by cooking on her own.

These stories and statistics led our founder, Varshini Vijay, to pursue her passion for helping people. “Having a family member diagnosed with cancer was extremely painful for me. The impact on the whole family, the financial burden, the emotional trauma, and the big question, ‘Will they survive after all of this?’ all haunted me. After doing some research, I was shocked to find out that there are very few international cancer NGOs for teenagers currently. I realized that this needed to be changed, and I saw myself contributing to find a solution to innovate and play a part in bringing this change. Because of this vision I had, I created my non-profit venture to help the underprivileged.” 

Thus started Teens for Cancer Patients (TCP), an international youth-led organization dedicated to battling cancer. Since launching in September 2021, TCP has served over 400 persons in 12 countries with 10+ chapters, hosted the successful event, “Impact of COVID-19 on Cancer Prevention”, with over 90+ attendees, provided 10,000 menstrual products to combat cervical cancer, and fundraised over 3 lakhs for financially sensitive patients.

Our success is largely owed to our motivation that we find in seeing the smiles of patients when they receive treatment. It is a truly humbling and inspiring experience that makes all our hard work worth it. Our work has taught us that no matter who you are, or where you come from, you can be a changemaker in your community and society at large. 

Experience the joy of joining a close-knit, international family that wants to make a difference and the joy of volunteering, giving back, and of saving lives. Go to teensforcancerpatients.org or e-mail teensforcancerpatients@gmail.com and review linktr.ee/teens_for_cancer_patients for more information.

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Scientists at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, have developed two anti-cancer medicines from the fruit extract of the Rampatri plant, which may help destroy tumours and revive cells damaged by radiation. The Rampatri plant, used as a spice in foods, belongs to the Myristicaceae family and is found in western coastal region of India.

BARC Radio Modifier (BRM) protects normal tissues while cancerous cells are destroyed during radiotherapy while BARC Radio Protector (BRP) will help reverse the effect of radiations if a ‘nuclear accident’ takes place.

The scientists tested the medicines on mice and found that they may help in treating lung cancer and neuroblastoma, a rare cancer found in children. In neuroblastoma, cancer cells grow in nerve cells of adrenal glands, neck, chest and spinal cord.

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Indian long pepper may soon be used as a potential cancer treatment drug, according to a new study. It contains a chemical that could stop the body from producing an enzyme that is commonly found in tumors in large numbers, according to a study in Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Long pepper’s medicinal properties date back thousands of years. Its benefits were even cited by Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician known as the father of medicine. Its cancer-fighting secret lies in a chemical called Piperlongumine (PL), which has shown activity against many cancers including prostate, breast, lung, colon, lymphoma, leukemia, primary brain tumors and gastric cancer.

Using x-ray crystallography, researchers were able to create molecular structures that show how the chemical is transformed after being ingested. PL converts to hPL, an active drug that silences a gene called GSTP1. The GSTP1 gene produces a detoxification enzyme that is often overly abundant in tumors.

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