🌞 The big medical breakthrough this week

What’s one thing that made you happy this week?

I’ll go first. I’m currently in Spain and one thing that I’ve observed (and loved) is the Spanish tradition of mealtimes being fully and wholly dedicated to good conversation. The tapas style of small plates means any lunch or dinner is lengthened and I’ve loved walking around the streets of Spain and seeing locals spending hours just sitting back, eating and having a good chat.

I know I’m certainly guilty of always feeling like I need to rush off to wherever is next, so this has been a good (and necessary) exercise in slowing down. I’ve absolutely loved learning more about the people I’m travelling with during these times.

Hit reply to this email and tell me one thing that has made you smile this week!

Researchers have found a new treatment regime for cervical cancer reduces the risk of death by 40%.

According to the World Health Organisation, 350,000 women globally died from cervical cancer in 2022. Now, a new trial in the UK has shown that giving cervical cancer patients a short course of chemotherapy before beginning the standard treatment significantly lowered the death rate. Researchers ran the trial over 10 years and found that using this treatment led to a 40% reduction in the risk of death and a 35% reduction in the risk of the cancer returning within five years.

According to Cancer Research UK, this new form of treatment will be able to be implemented quickly because the chemo drugs are accessible (both physically and financially) and already approved for use. The lead investigator of the trial, Dr Mary McCormack, called this “the biggest improvement in outcome in this disease in over 20 years”.

I do think it’s important here to also highlight how incredibly lucky we are here in Australia, where we have some of the lowest rates of cervical cancer in the world. According to the Cancer Council Australia, that’s largely thanks to the successful introduction of the National Cervical Screening Program. Since 1991, Australian incidence and mortality rates for cervical cancer have decreased by approximately 50%. Science is pretty amazing, hey?!

Here’s a story you can tell anyone who says change is too difficult. An 11-year-old has turned her playground dreams into reality after her idea for a new playground was developed by her local council.

The story goes that Rosili Olson was visiting her local park in Utah when she noticed the playground was unsafe for her little sister. The park had been built for older children, which 11-year-old Rosili felt was unfair, and meant she couldn’t play safely with her sister.

So she took matters into her own hands and decided to draw up a new park, using her crayons, that she thought would be more accessible for her and her younger sibling. With the help of her mum, Rosili presented her drawing to her city’s local council.

Last month, one year after Rosili first drew the park, her dream became a reality. The council spent the last year developing Rosili’s artistic vision, and the new park opened in September.

Announcing the new park, a local official said: “After seeing [Rosili’s] initiative and detail, we knew we had to make her dream happen.”

Ruth Chepngetich has become the first woman to complete a marathon in less than 2 hours and 10 minutes after winning the Chicago Marathon last weekend.

The 30-year-old Kenyan athlete’s race time of 2:09:56 broke the women’s world record by almost two minutes. Two whole minutes! The previous women’s record, 2:11:53, was set by Ethiopian runner Tigst Assefa last year.

Chepngetich isn’t new to winning. She’s won the Chicago Marathon twice before in 2021 and 2022.

She called this year’s record-breaking effort a “dream come true,” saying, “I feel so great, I’m proud of myself”.

Chepngetich dedicated her win to Kelvin Kiptum, who set the men’s world record in Chicago last year but died in a car accident earlier this year.

Intrepid's non-profit, 'The Intrepid Foundation' provides travellers the chance to make an impact in the communities they visit.

Making a real difference in Varanasi, India, they've launched The Holy City Rickshaw Program which empowers women to enter the male-dominated rickshaw industry. This program trains women to drive e-rickshaws for city tours and provides sustainable employment and income.

Learn more about this initiative here.

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Today’s community good news story is courtesy of Healesville Sanctuary, where some Tree Kangaroos have been receiving flower deliveries from keepers.

Talk about a double whammy… the local team at Healesville said “not only do the flowers brighten up the day, but they also provide the Tree Kangaroos with their daily dose of fibre”.

We’ve been assured that Mani the Tree Kangaroo doesn’t suffer from hayfever, so she’s been enjoying the local blooms for all that they are!

Two sets of twins are pictured at the World Twins Festival in Igbo-Ora, Nigeria. This town is known to have more twins than anywhere else in the world. While the global average birth rate for twins is around 12 per 1,000 births, it is closer to 50 per 1,000 in Igbo-Ora.