Cancer screening test a big step forward

Medical research is laborious and costly, but it can yield things worthy of a big celebration.

A noninvasive blood test was developed, as announced in the journal Science last week, that can screen for eight forms of the disease at once: ovarian, liver, stomach, pancreatic, esophageal, colon, lung and breast cancers.

An early diagnosis is critical to survival, and in some types, such as ovarian cancer, a reliable means of detection has been elusive.

This is why the pursuit, at Hawaii’s cancer center and others, goes on. Breakthroughs can, in fact, happen.

Stand back from the shore: Seas are on the rise

It’s time to brace for a potentially soggy future, Hawaii. The state Department of Land and Natural Resources held a news conference last week to hammer home that tangible impacts of climate change are now upon us. Among the evidence: North Shore erosion, epic king tides and coral bleaching.

A projection for sea level rise in the islands of 3.2 feet over the next 30 to 70 years is spelled out in the 300-page Hawaii Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Report, adopted last month by the Hawaii Climate Commission. For a glimpse of what’s ahead, DLNR suggests watching a 28-minute video, “Rising Seas in Hawai‘i,” https://vimeo.com/249760017.