Stomach Cancer

Karolj Seles, father and coach of tennis star Monica Seles, began chemotherapy treatments for stomach cancer at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., last month, it was revealed yesterday. Seles, 63, was recently diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma. He originally was diagnosed with prostate cancer in June 1993 and with gastric malignancy in December 1993. The prostate cancer has not recurred, but a CAT scan in January, as part of a regular follow-up exam at the Mayo Clinic, revealed the recurrence of the rare gastric tumor.

Coaches, administrators, players and students expressed sorrow over the loss of Colorado quarterback Sal Aunese, who died Saturday night after a six- month battle with inoperable stomach cancer. "Sal Aunese was a special young man who fought a brave battle," Colorado chancellor Jim Corbridge said after hearing of Aunese's death. "We're all very proud that he was one of our students. " Buffaloes defensive co-captain Michael Jones said: "He meant a lot to us. God, it hurts, just to see him go like this . . . I just can't imagine him being gone.

If you love garlic, onions and all their smelly cousins, medical researchers have good news for you. Members of the allium family, which also includes scallions, leeks and chives, seem to reduce the risk of stomach cancer, according to a Chinese study published earlier this year in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Stomach cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in China and in many Third World countries. However, this form of cancer has been declining steadily since 1930 in the United States.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg says he won't be going back to Washington this week when the Senate returns from a two-week recess. The New Jersey Democrat released a statement Friday saying continued treatment for muscle weakness and fatigue would keep him from traveling, the Star-Ledger of Newark reported. He said his doctor had advised him to work from home. Lautenberg, who is 89 and announced in February that he would not seek reelection, was ill with the flu in late December and missed several votes.

HERPES TREATMENT. Acyclovir, an antiviral drug, can reduce or eliminate recurrent outbreaks of genital herpes, even when taken for more than a year. That's according to physician David Baker, a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, who says a study involving 261 patients showed that outbreaks of the disease were virtually eliminated for about half of those taking acyclovir twice daily. CANCER-CAUSING OINTMENT? Traces of cancer-causing pesticides have been found in lanolin, an ointment base derived from sheep wool and used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and body creams.

By Gjertrud Schnackenberg Farrar Straus Giroux. 64 pp. $23 Reviewed by Frank Wilson Ingenious repetition is what shapes Gjertrud Schnackenberg's Heavenly Questions , an intensely moving elegy in six parts. The first and fourth poems, for instance, are lullabies, though not songs for one newly born, but rather for one about to die. "Archimedes Lullaby," the first, begins: A visit to the shores of lullabies, Where Archimedes, counting grains of sand, Is seated in his half-filled universe And sorting out the grains by shape and size.

House Speaker Matthew Ryan, the senior member of the state House of Representatives, is being treated for stomach cancer. In a letter to his colleagues yesterday, Ryan, a Republican from Delaware County, said he would undergo surgery to remove a small malignant tumor that doctors recently found in his stomach. "I hope to be able to finish the June session before hospitalization but cannot say for sure at this point," said Ryan, who recently turned 70. Ryan entered Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland on Monday after experiencing internal bleeding.

Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu said yesterday that the stomach cancer that has sidelined him this season was in full remission. Koivu, 27, said he planned to start working out and could return by the end of the regular season in April, if he can maintain a schedule of six workouts a week. "The way the guys are playing right now, I'll have to ask coach [Michel Therrien] if I can even make the team," Koivu joked. Team doctor David Mulder said it was unlikely Koivu could play this season, but added "nothing's impossible" and noted that Koivu had so far "proved us wrong in every case" with his recovery.

Kevin Brown will skip his scheduled start on Tuesday because of a lower abdominal strain, the Los Angeles Dodgers said yesterday, announcing the latest setback for the righthander. Brown was injured Thursday night in the fourth inning of his 7-4 loss to San Diego while running from first to third on a double by Wilkin Ruan. He scored on an infield hit, then pitched one more inning before taking himself out. An MRI on Friday confirmed the diagnosis. New York Yankees first baseman-designated hitter Nick Johnson, out with a stress fracture in his right hand, hit off a tee for the first time.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg says he won't be going back to Washington this week when the Senate returns from a two-week recess. The New Jersey Democrat released a statement Friday saying continued treatment for muscle weakness and fatigue would keep him from traveling, the Star-Ledger of Newark reported. He said his doctor had advised him to work from home. Lautenberg, who is 89 and announced in February that he would not seek reelection, was ill with the flu in late December and missed several votes.

The more red meat you eat, the greater your disease risk Eating red meat is associated with a sharply increased risk of death from cancer and heart disease, according to a new study, and the more of it you eat, the greater the risk. The analysis, published online in Archives of Internal Medicine, used data from two studies that involved 121,342 men and women who filled out questionnaires about health and diet from 1980 through 2006. People who ate more red meat were less physically active and more likely to smoke and had a higher body mass index, researchers found.

CAIRO - Toppled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has cancer, according to his lawyer, who disclosed the news less than two months before Mubarak is to stand trial, accused of financial corruption and allowing security forces to kill hundreds of protesters who rallied against his regime in February. Mubarak, 83, who has been hospitalized since an April heart attack, has been in ill health for years. Reports that he may have cancer surfaced in 2010, when a growth was removed from his intestine during gallbladder surgery.

By Gjertrud Schnackenberg Farrar Straus Giroux. 64 pp. $23 Reviewed by Frank Wilson Ingenious repetition is what shapes Gjertrud Schnackenberg's Heavenly Questions , an intensely moving elegy in six parts. The first and fourth poems, for instance, are lullabies, though not songs for one newly born, but rather for one about to die. "Archimedes Lullaby," the first, begins: A visit to the shores of lullabies, Where Archimedes, counting grains of sand, Is seated in his half-filled universe And sorting out the grains by shape and size.

Marcia Glover-Banks, 42, a dying cancer patient who recorded a song with her young daughters as a celebration of their love, died Friday at home in Lindenwold. The family's story, including a Web link to the song, was reported by The Inquirer in February and picked up by other media, reaching thousands of people around the world who listened to the song. Many also sent prayers, gifts and encouragement to Ms. Glover-Banks. A former school board member in Lindenwold and divorced mother of three girls, ages 14, 9 and 7, Ms. Glover-Banks wrote "A Family's Love" as part of her music therapy with Samaritan Hospice in Marlton.

Bernard S. Bloom, 65, an economist who studied the financial aspect of health care, died of stomach cancer Sunday at home in Society Hill. A native of Boston, Dr. Bloom earned a bachelor's degree in 1961 and a master's degree in 1964, both in economics from Northeastern University. He briefly sold books for an educational-publishing company before running a long-term-care facility in Boston for three years. He married Sheila Weiner in 1961, and the couple had two children, Laura and Eric, before divorcing in 1976.

After two cancer operations that took nearly half his stomach but none of his resolve, Jack Rutter has pronounced himself ready, willing and very able to resume his coaching duties at Bishop McDevitt. "I'm eating well. I'm working out and running," the Lancers' head boys' basketball coach said yesterday. "I'm ready to go. I can't wait to get back. " Rutter, a former Philadelphia police officer who is an assistant principal for student services at McDevitt, initially had surgery to remove a tumor from his stomach just eight days after he was diagnosed on June 23, 2004.

Marguerite "Marge" Kelly Reed, 57, of Haddonfield, who chronicled her 20-year battle with cancer in a poignant and funny one-woman show that was her way of spreading a message of hope in the face of illness, died of the disease Monday at home. Mrs. Reed performed Why Not Me? more than 100 times. She took the play to neighborhood theaters and women's clubs, sharing her story in offices and cafeterias. The one-hour show portrayed her fight with cancer, which started in 1983 when she found a lump in her breast.

Kevin Brown will skip his scheduled start on Tuesday because of a lower abdominal strain, the Los Angeles Dodgers said yesterday, announcing the latest setback for the righthander. Brown was injured Thursday night in the fourth inning of his 7-4 loss to San Diego while running from first to third on a double by Wilkin Ruan. He scored on an infield hit, then pitched one more inning before taking himself out. An MRI on Friday confirmed the diagnosis. New York Yankees first baseman-designated hitter Nick Johnson, out with a stress fracture in his right hand, hit off a tee for the first time.

Matthew J. Ryan of Delaware County, 70, the speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, died Saturday night of complications from stomach cancer. Mr. Ryan died shortly before 9 p.m. at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, surrounded by his wife, Delaware County Judge Patricia H. Jenkins, and five children, said Roger Nick, his chief of staff. Mr. Ryan announced in June that he had stomach cancer. He was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia Feb. 14 and had been fighting illness since then.