Clanging gongs, dragon dances and costumed children paraded on poles Friday heralded the return of the Bun Festival to Hong Kong's island of Cheung Chau after...

Dame Esther Rantzen has revealed that her lung cancer has progressed to stage four, after previously announcing in January that she had been diagnosed with the disease. The Childline founder and broadcaster told The Mirror that “nobody knows” if the new medication she is trying is working and a scan “will reveal one way or another”. Earlier in the year, Rantzen, 82, said she had “decided not to keep this secret any more because I find it difficult to skulk around various hospitals wearing an unconvincing disguise” and was “remaining optimistic”. Stage four is when cancer has spread from where it started to another body organ, according to Cancer Research UK, and is also called secondary or metastatic cancer. More than 43,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer every year in the UK, according to the NHS, making it one of the most common forms of cancer – yet the disease is often shrouded in myths and misconceptions. So, what do you need to know? Here are some important facts about lung cancer… 1. Lung cancer can affect people of any age According to John Costello, a pulmonologist at the Mayo Clinic: “Lung cancer is certainly more common in older people – the average age of diagnosis is 70 years.” This does not mean it only ever affects older age groups, however. Lisa Jacques, lead specialist cancer nurse at Perci Health, says: “Most people develop lung cancer in their 60s and 70s, after many years of smoking, but occasionally people get lung cancer at a much younger age, even in their 20s and 30s.” 2. Lung cancer is not always caused by smoking Although smoking can certainly increase your chances of developing lung cancer, it is not the only cause. “Smoking is the cause of most lung cancers and the biggest risk factor, but about 10% of people who get lung cancer have never smoked,” explains Jacques. Costello adds: “There are some lung cancers which are genetic and may not be smoking-related, and some others are caused by exposures to substances like asbestos, radon gas and passive smoking” – although he says these are “relatively uncommon”. 3. Stopping smoking can help protect you Costello says: “Some of the damage and inflammation caused by smoking can be reversible, but in particular, emphysema is architectural destruction of the lung which causes extreme breathlessness and cannot be reversed.” So quitting smoking might reduce your risk and is always worthwhile for your health – but not starting the habit at all is much better. Speak to your GP if you would like support with quitting. 4. Lung cancer is not always deadly A diagnosis of lung cancer does not always mean certain death, but it is still serious. “Lung cancer has a 65% survival rate for five years in people with localised disease,” says Costello. “If it has spread around the body at the time of diagnosis, the survival rate is only 8%.” However, he says there are “new techniques in screening for lung cancer, such as CT scans in smokers over 50 years with a serious tobacco background”. These “may pick up very small early tumours, which can be removed with up to an 80-90% five-year survival rate”. So if you have concerns about a persistent cough, which is one of the key warning signs, see your GP and get it checked out as soon as possible. 5. Men are more likely to get it but women still need to be aware According to Cancer Research UK, men are more likely to get the disease than women (52% of lung cancer cases are men, compared to 48% of women). However, these margins are small, and women absolutely do need to be aware of lung cancer as well. “Lung cancer has been an increasing problem in women since they caught up with men in terms of smoking habit, and they are therefore at risk if they smoke, and some of the non-smoking related lung cancers are more common in women,” says Costello. Jacques adds: “It is the third most common cancer in the UK, and in women it is the second most common cancer type.” So, whether you smoke or not, look out for the symptoms of lung cancer – like a cough lasting longer than two or three weeks, recurring chest infections, breathlessness or aches and pains when breathing – and see your GP if you have any concerns. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Camilla receives ‘beautiful’ compliment after meeting children at historic library 7 foods that could help you get better sleep Household energy bills set to fall from July: 7 ways to help keep bills as low as possible

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 26, 2023--

By Rajesh Kumar Singh, Doyinsola Oladipo and David Shepardson After two successive summers of travel chaos, U.S. airlines

An anonymous person has been absolutely berated by their neighbour after they admitted to having their cat neutered without asking. The admission came in a Reddit post on the site’s Am I The A**hole community, where the person explained what they had done and how it led to their neighbour going “ballistic” at them. In the post, the person explained that they run a trap–neuter–return scheme among local strays and were recently called to an area with a lot of strays. They explained: “They were everywhere and I mostly ended up handing it over to professionals. “I did, however, manage to grab three very sweet cats. Two were terrified, skinny, a little beaten up, but overall friendly. The third one was a little gent.” The person explained that the third male cat had a collar, was tubby and well-groomed, indicating it had an owner. Explaining that they had a choice between locating the cat’s owners and dropping him off, or taking him to get neutered, the poster revealed they did the latter. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter They wrote: “Ultimately I took him with me and got him neutered. No chip so I called the number on his tag and informed them where their cat was and gave them time slots to pick him up or have him dropped off. “The owners went ballistic. They were cursing me out and came to collect their cat not twenty minutes later. Called me a kidnapper, blamed me for their child having nightmares (scared over their cat going missing).” While the person attempted to defend themselves, arguing they “have a duty to care for stray cats”, they didn’t garner a lot of sympathy in the post’s comments. One Redditor argued: “You did kidnap their cat and made a (superbly arrogant) decision to have him neutered without the owner's permission. “You can judge them all you want for letting their cat outside, but the first thing to have done was to call the cat's people and asked ‘Hey, I found your cat. Did you know he was outside?’ That's the basic due diligence, right there.” However, another Redditor also argued that while the original poster was in the wrong, the owners were also being irresponsible for letting their unneutered male cat out of the house. They wrote: “Everyone sucks here. The owners for letting an intact pet outside unsupervised to breed, and you for having a surgical medical procedure done to an animal (that you KNEW had owners) without the owner’s consent. “Regardless of the morality of allowing pets to contribute to the stray population (for which the owner is an a**hole), making medical decisions for someone else's pet makes you a massive a**hole.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Few things are more tiresome than slowly shuffling forward in an airport line with one anxious eye on

Comparing Disney's so-called "live-action remakes" is tricky business. For starters, the traditional metrics of entertainment

First We Feast's "Hot Ones" is back for a new season, and the first guest

TL;DR: Through May 31, you can score the Watch From Anywhere Bundle — which includes

The Memorial Day deals are rolling in and Walmart has plenty to choose from. Not

TL;DR: As of May 26, the 4-in-1 Smart Flash Drive is on sale for $20.99

TL;DR: Digital artists can snag the Digi Pen for iPads and tablets on sale for