Why is cancer called cancer? We need to go back to Greco-Roman times for the answer

By Konstantine Panegyres, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne

One of the earliest descriptions of someone with cancer comes from the fourth century BC. Satyrus, tyrant of the city of Heracleia on the Black Sea, developed a cancer between his groin and scrotum. As the cancer spread, Satyrus had ever greater pains. He was unable to sleep and had convulsions.

Advanced cancers in that part of the body were regarded as inoperable, and there were no drugs strong enough to alleviate the agony. So doctors could do nothing. Eventually, the cancer took Satyrus’ life at the age…

Read complete article

~	Rugby league in Perth and Papua New Guinea? Here’s what could be next for the NRL

~	Threatened species have declined 2% a year since 2000. Nature positive? Far from it.

~	Tunisia: Deepening Civil Society Crackdown

~	Bridgerton is a progressive fantasy about the past. Do romance readers care about its historical accuracy?

~	Want to be buried on your own land, at sea or in a forest? A guide to unconventional send-offs

~	Homo Pentecostus: on queer intimacies, religion, ancestry and the human need for connection

~	After 180 years, new clues are revealing just how general anaesthesia works in the brain

~	Nuclear subs are coming to Australia. Now the Coalition wants reactors, too. We’re not ready for it

~	Menopause can bring increased cholesterol levels and other heart risks. Here’s why and what to do about it

~	Cameras reveal wombat burrows can be safe havens after fire and waterholes after rain