One word that has never failed to spook me is "cancer". Having lost two of my loved ones to the Big C, it scares me to this day. I pray that one day, medical science will be able to tackle cancer more effectively. And, it's heartening to see more people joining the battle to bring hope to patients.
I had an opportunity to know more about cancer about a decade ago when reading about the philanthropic work in battling cancer by the late singer, Dame Olivia Newton-John (ONJ), noted for her starring role as Sandy in the hit musical Grease and songs like I Honestly Love You and You Are the One I That I Want.
Not many knew of her zeal in the cancer healing sphere. When Dame ONJ was last in Malaysia for a concert in April 2012, I reached out to her to find out how she was coping as a cancer survivor then, as she was a big advocate for cancer research and wellness for cancer patients.
In between rehearsals, she said: "From my own experience, I know that a positive mind and a supportive environment, alongside integrative wellness care and medical treatment, played a huge role in my healing. It's not just about treating cancer, it's about treating the whole person — body, mind and spirit."
Take away the stress if you want to be well, so to speak. Dame ONJ did reveal about the importance of being happy by immersing oneself in hobbies or passions. She said art therapy helped her tremendously when she was a patient at Austin Hospital, near Melbourne, Australia. The hospital is now part of Austin Health, a medical institution that dates back to 1882.
Eventually Dame ONJ established the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre, a partnership between Austin Health and the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute.
"My dream is that one day, the ONJ Centre will be only about wellness, and we will no longer need cancer centres because cancer will be a thing of the past," she said, reflecting on her resoluteness that the disease should be defeated through world-class research and treatment.
But the question of mortality is something that humans cannot escape from and the always bubbly Dame ONJ died in California at the age of 73 on Aug 8 this year.
The ONJ Centre had described her as someone who had provided hope and changed the lives of thousands of cancer patients.
"She was the light at the end of the tunnel for many, many people. The ONJ Centre was her dream, and we are proud of everything we achieved together. We will continue our work to honour her legacy," the centre said in a tribute.
I recently came into contact with another cancer-battler, Aldo Carrascoso, a Filipino start-up entrepreneur in San Francisco, who, with two fellow Filipino medical experts Dr Carolyn Bertozzi and Dr Carlito Lebrilla, co-founded InterVenn Biosciences to revolutionise the fight against cancer.
InterVenn develops clinical-grade evaluations in oncology by using Artificial Intelligence and mass spectrometry (observation and measurement of wavelengths of light or other electromagnetic radiation) to interrogate glycoproteins, which are essential for keeping our bodies healthy and functional as they create mucus to protect our organs. Its approach has yielded high-accuracy predictors for a spectrum of disease indications and treatment outcomes, particularly in oncology.
Like Dame ONJ, Carrascoso also vowed that one of the company's driving ideologies is that no one should be blindsided by cancer after two of his family members were afflicted with it.
Recently, Carrascoso was at Technology Park Malaysia on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur to oversee the expansion of its regional hub so that it could be closer to its patients and medical experts in this region besides accelerating its mission that no one should ever be caught by surprise by the disease.
"We envision a time when cancer is no longer a problem — and all diseases are a mere nuisance," he said, adding that the company envisaged a situation where previously unrelated disciplines would be "un-siloed and interact together in unison to pursue a solution".
That's an aspiration I await anxiously: for the world to be a better place through progressive medical science.
The writer is a former Bernama chief executive officer and editor-in-chief
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times
