Latest news with #cancersurvivor
CNN
3 days ago
- Sport
- CNN
Two-time cancer survivor Ann-Katrin Berger puts in all-time great performance to propel Germany to Euro 2025 semifinals
In terms of challenges that two-time cancer survivor Ann-Katrin Berger has overcome, making a string of saves in Germany's Euro 2025 quarterfinal victory over France on Saturday night is relatively low down on the list. That's not to say it wasn't a huge night for the goalkeeper and her country – she put in one of the tournament's all-time great goalkeeping performances as Germany beat France 6-5 in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw after extra time. Berger made nine saves in open play, more than any other player has managed in a knockout stage match at the European Women's Championship since 2013, per the BBC. Her 102nd-minute save to prevent an own goal by teammate Janina Minge was the pick of the bunch, as she acrobatically dived backwards and clawed away the captain's looping header when it looked destined for the back of the net. But the 34-year-old did not stop there. In the penalty shootout, she kept out the very first spot kick from France's Amel Majri, scored her team's fourth penalty, and then dived to her left to keep out Alice Sombath's effort – France's seventh penalty attempt – and win the game for Germany. In apparent disbelief, Berger simply sank to her knees, her arms outstretched and a huge grin on her face, and watched as her jubilant teammates sprinted towards her to celebrate. Progressing to the semifinals of Euro 2025 will have particular meaning to Berger, as it was at this tournament three years ago that she discovered her thyroid cancer had returned after she had previously been diagnosed in 2017. In both instances, the German returned to soccer within months of starting her treatment, citing her need to take her mind off the situation. 'You have to focus on something else, to hold onto something. For me, that was the Euros,' she told Sky Sports in 2022. 'Football saved my brain and saved my mental health because I had something to hold on to.' Having made a full recovery again, the only visible sign of what Berger has been through is on her neck, where a tattoo reading 'All we have is now' covers up scars from her treatment. On the pitch on Saturday, Berger and Germany's hopes of making it past the quarterfinals took a huge dent in the 13th minute when Kathrin Hendrich was sent off for pulling Griedge Mbock by her hair in the penalty area. Grace Geyoro converted the resulting spot kick, and suddenly Germany found itself a goal and a player down. But Die Nationalelf responded quickly when Sjoeke Nüsken headed Klara Bühl's corner in at the near post in the 25th minute. France's Delphine Cascarino and Geyoro each had goals disallowed for offside either side of halftime, before Nüsken passed up a golden opportunity to give Germany an unlikely lead in the 69th minute when her poor penalty was saved by Pauline Peyraud-Magnin after Selma Bacha had fouled Jule Brand. But Berger's heroics were enough to take Germany to the semifinals, where it will face world champion Spain on Wednesday.
Daily Mail
07-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Skin cancer doctor shares shocking video of 'worst melanoma' he's ever seen: 'They don't always look like moles'
Don't ignore new bumps on the skin, even if they do not look like typical red-flag warning signs of skin cancer, a leading GP has warned. Melanoma is one of the most dangerous types of cancer, accounting for four out of five deaths. Experts have long urged the public to look out for moles which have grown in size, changed colour or shape, as these are tell-tale signs that it may have become cancerous. But now, Dr John O'Bryen, a specialist GP at Body Scan Skin Cancer Clinic, Australia wants to remind people that not all melanomas present as freckles or moles. 'Not all melanomas are brown and black' he said in a TikTok video that has been viewed nearly 106,000 times. In the video he showed a close-up of 'the worst melanoma' he has ever seen—the second most common type of melanoma which can develop anywhere on the body. 'Nodular melanomas grow quickly and cause the greatest fatality', he reminded his followers before urging them to see a doctor if they are concerned about any changes to their skin. He explained: 'A man came to me last week concerned about a new bump on his arm. It was red and had quickly grown in size.' @skincancerdoctor Scary! Not all melanomas are brown and black! Nodular melanomas grow quickly and cause the greatest fatality. See a doctor urgently if you are concerned! ‼️ I performed an excisional biopsy of this and the patient will see a melanoma surgeon and medical oncologist.👨⚕️ My HEINE DELTA 30 PRO dermatoscope 🔍 continues to assist me in diagnosing skin cancers. Last year, I found and treated 1000! For general information about HEINE and their dermatoscopes please visit #melanoma #skincancer #heine #skincancerdoctor #dermoscopy #dermatoscope ♬ original sound - skincancerdoctor The melanoma was around 4mm wide and presented as elevated, firm and growing. The seconds-long clip saw the medic using a magnifying lens to really zoom in on the painful-looking legion, revealing a patchy network of bloody vessels and white patches. Further inspection revealed 'white polarising lines' and 'polymorphous vessels', both of which point to skin cancer. According to Cancer Research UK, nodular melanomas tend to grow downwards, into the deeper layers of the skin. A tell-tale sign of this type of melanoma is a raised area on the surface of the skin anywhere on the body. This type of cancer is most commonly found in people in their 40s and 50s. When diagnosing melanoma skin cancer—cancer that starts in cells called melanocytes found in the skin, tissue lining some parts of the body such as the mouth, and the eye—doctors typically use a checklist known as the ABCDEs. This includes asymmetry, border, colour, diameter and evolving moles as tell-tale warning signs for the disease. However, the charity warns that having some of these changes on their own does not definitely confirm melanoma—with some non-cancerous moles causing the surrounding skin to become itchy. Even so, Dr O'Bryen urged his followers to contact their GP if they experience any changes to their skin, even if they have none of the ABCDE signs. This can help doctors diagnose the cancer early, before it has spread around the body. At this early stage, doctors can remove the cancerous cells in a simple surgery performed under local anesthetic. It comes as Cancer Research UK predict there could be as many as 26,5000 new cases of melanoma diagnosed every year by 2040—with the incidence rate rising faster than any other common cancer. Currently around 17,500 people are diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer each year, but experts nearly 90 per cent of skin cancer cases could be avoided. This is because most skin cancers are caused by sun damage, and more specifically over-exposure to ultraviolet rays either directly from the sun or sunbeds. As such, the NHS recommends staying out of the sun during the hottest part of the day, when UV rays are strongest, keeping legs and arms covered and using sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30. Dr O'Bryen's advice comes as patients with the deadliest type of skin cancer are set to be given fast-tracked access to a revolutionary cancer vaccine on the NHS. The needle-free injection is custom-built for patients to stop their melanoma returning—which experts believe will herald a new era in fighting the disease. It works by boosting the immune system's response, helping it to 'attack' proteins that are specific to melanoma tumours, preventing them from returning. Currently, around half of patients diagnosed with melanoma respond to immunotherapy. But those who don't are at a higher risk of their cancer getting worse.
Washington Post
02-07-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
I assumed I'd never need Medicaid. I was wrong.
Madison Chapman is a cancer survivor and a federal worker in D.C. I never expected to go on Medicaid. I grew up in a comfortable household, had worked since high school, and was a generally healthy 24-year-old public policy graduate student. I also never expected the stubborn lump above my collarbone would be Hodgkin's lymphoma.
BBC News
28-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
'I believe routine smear test saved my life'
"If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't be here to tell my story."Toni Smith from Eastwood, in Nottinghamshire, went for a routine smear test when she was 28-years-old and believes doing so saved her screening is for human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes most cervical cancers, and women between the ages of 25 and 64 are offered it every few more than five million women are not up to date with the test, according to the government. Just 68.8% of women currently take up the offer of cervical cancer screening - well below the NHS England target of 80%.Toni told the BBC that after going for a routine smear test, HPV was found and she was later diagnosed with cervical cancer in February 2019. The mother-of-two was later offered a range of treatments by the NHS and chose to have a hysterectomy. 'Please, just go' The 36-year-old was in remission for five years until July last year when she got the all said: "I think my reflection is life is only a proportion of what goes on if you don't attend."It's uncomfortable, but that's going to save your life – it saved mine."Toni urged women to attend cervical screening and added: "Please, please just go."NHS England has now announced from January, a test which can be done at home that contains a long cotton-wool bud to swab the lining of the vagina, will be said she thinks the concept is an "amazing idea" and added: "The home testing kits gives that benefit to the woman, you haven't got to go somewhere, you don't have to feel uncomfortable, it's done in your own time."The Department for Health and Social Care in England said the scheme would tackle "deeply entrenched barriers" that keep women away from cervical can be due to embarrassment, discomfort, lack of time as well as religious or cultural concerns.A recent trial showed the rollout of home test kits across England could increase the proportion screened to 77% over three years.
BBC News
15-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Cancer survivor raising funds to say thank you
A cancer survivor is climbing Kilimanjaro to fundraise and give back to the hospital ward that treated Cole, from East Yorkshire, spent four months on Ward 33 at Castle Hill Hospital, near Hull, during treatment for a rare form of who has been in remission for two years, said he cannot thank the people who treated him has organised various fundraising events and set himself the goal of climbing Africa's highest peak to raise further funds for Hull Hospitals charity WISHH, and the Teenage Cancer Trust. Mr Cole was diagnosed with Stage four Burkitt's lymphoma, a rare cancer of both the bone marrow and the lymph system which affects just 210 people in the UK each year, in autumn 2022. Mr Cole was treated in the Teenage and Young Adult Unit at the Queen's Centre at Castle Hill Hospital, where he received numerous rounds of aggressive chemotherapy and multiple blood and platelet transfusions."I nearly lost my life and they cared and looked after me, to cure me," he said."I can't thank all the consultants, nurses, Teenage Cancer Trust, and the entire team enough, who work in Ward 33 in The Queen's Centre, at Castle Hill. They do an amazing job and are so kind and friendly." He also thanked those people who give blood."I needed so many transfusions and I wouldn't be here without them."Mr Cole has organised a number of events to raise money and awareness of blood cancers and the importance of early set out to Tanzania earlier in June, having set himself the challenge of climbing Kilimanjaro, a dormant volcano in northeastern initial fundraising target was £4,000 but to date he has raised over £7, to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
