Global News Podcast - The Happy Pod: The 'game changing' test for ovarian cancer

Episode Date: September 6, 2025

A new blood test could dramatically improve survival rates for women with ovarian cancer by detecting it much sooner. The researchers tell us it's a game changer that could go on to save tens of thousands of lives around the world every year. Also: we meet the female Muslim jockey breaking new ground and inspiring the next generation. Khadijah Mellah has just made her amateur debut. Plus the woman who underwent a rare triple organ transplant talks about the joy of getting back to normal life; how a hand-cranked washing machine is saving thousands of people from hours of back breaking work; football's Homeless World Cup; and why a member of indie band Kasabian is opening a new music venue in a tiny Welsh town. Our weekly collection of inspiring, uplifting and happy news from around the world.

This is the Happy Pod from the BBC World Service. I'm Bernard Echio and in this edition... We really have a bright light on the horizon. We have a new test that could really be a game changer for women that are diagnosed with this disease. To actually be involved in a research study that can help to diagnose people at a much earlier stage where their chance of cure is greater,

the chance that they will live and see their children grow up is absolutely fantastic. A blood test that could dramatically improve survival rates for ovarian cancer. Also, the female jockey breaking new ground, the international football tournament helping homeless people turn their lives around, and...

I had the realisation that I want to make a washing machine that works for you, Viviour, and I will bring this washing machine to you. An invention inspired by a friendship that's now helping thousands of people. We start with a discovery that could help save the lives of tens of thousands of women around the world. Every year, more than 300,000 are diagnosed with ovarian cancer

and it's often not detected until it's in the later stages. leading to low survival rates. But now researchers in the US and the UK have created a new blood test that detected the disease in its early stages in around 90% of cases, allowing for earlier treatment and potentially improving the chances of survival dramatically.

It works by looking at the types of proteins and lipids in the blood and teaching AI to spot the pattern found in ovarian cancer. The Happy Pod's Holly Gibbs spoke to Dr Kean Baybacht from the University of Colorado and Professor Emma Crosby from the University of Manchester. At the moment we don't have very good blood tests for ovarian cancer. There is one that's been around for about 50 years, but it's not that good at discriminating between patients who do and do not have cancer. But this new blood test measures several proteins

and a whole range of other molecules in the blood called lipase. And when you use this big range of different lipids and proteins, you're able to discriminate much better between patients who do and don't have ovarian cancer. And Dr. Baybacked, could you tell us why a blood test like this is so important? 7,500 women in the UK, over 20,000 in the US will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer every year. And unfortunately, the survival is about 20% for the later stages. And we know that it if we can find this cancer earlier, that the survival goes up to about 80 to 90%, we have been trying and trying and trying, as Dr. Crosby says, for 50 years, we have had tests and we keep

applying them. Here, now, we really have a bright light on the horizon. We have a new test that could really be a game changer for women that are diagnosed with this disease. This is tremendously important. Imagine coming up with a QR code that tells you that there's a chance of ovarian cancer. The amount of information that this test relays, and most importantly, the technology to adequately assess it. Professor Crosby, what's the feedback been like from the patients who have taken part? I've been contacted by numerous patients, their family members, by telephone, by email, by text saying how excited they are, people who are having symptoms who are very keen to have access to this new test and people whose loved ones have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer

in the past who'd struggled to get a diagnosis and we're just really delighted to see the progress that's being made in this area. Yeah, this is a game changer. You know, we have jumped leaps ahead in technology. The patients are well aware of this. And similarly, our patients that are enrolled in the prospective trial that's going on now, are very excited that they may not have to suffer. So what's next for this blood test? We are focused on women with these symptoms. The symptoms are difficult to eating, abdominal pain or bloating, trouble with urination. When you apply these symptoms as an upfront screen to this QR test, you dramatically increase the power. and the effectiveness of detection.

And on a personal level, how does it feel to work on a blood test that you know could save lives in the future? I mean, it's absolutely brilliant. It's what we get up for every day. We're here for the patients. So we unfortunately do manage patients who have got ovarian cancer and perhaps it's been diagnosed at a late stage. People who are essentially devastated by this new diagnosis

and have to go through very challenging treatment, So to actually be involved in a research study that can help to diagnose people at a much earlier stage where their chance of cure is greater, the chance that they will live and see their children grow up is absolutely fantastic. It's essentially why we became doctors and researchers is to see these exciting research ideas being put into practice and actually making a difference for our patients. I have a journal where I log the daily wins on my professional career, and my professional career has been trying to eliminate ovarian cancer, putting it in the rearview mirror.

And very happily, recently, I've had a lot of journal entries about things that have happened that have moved a needle that have gotten us to that place where we can historically talk about ovarian cancer. and then both Dr. Crosby and I will be out of a job and we'll be very happy about it. Dr. Kean Baybacked and Professor Emma Crosby. The first British Muslim woman jockey to win a horse race in Britain

has just made her amateur debut at Goodwood Racecourse. As an 18-year-old back in 2019, Khadija Mella made history by winning an all-female charity event, the Market Magnolia Cup, wearing a hijab. She learned to ride through low-cost lessons at a community stables in London and has helped set up an academy to help other young people from disadvantaged backgrounds get involved in horse racing. I went along to Hyde Park Stables in central London to meet her.

Cadidia, congratulations on your recent debut as an amateur jockey at Goodwood. How did it go? It was surreal. It's a long time coming, a lot of training, two years of work, and I'm very, very grateful to have the opportunity to race. It went in a flash, and I can't wait to race again, but it's taken me a while to be back in business. Tell us how you started off with horses in your life.

For me, it's just a love of animals, love of animals and a love of sport, and I was obsessed with horses before I'd even met any horses. And I started at Ebony Horse Club in Brixton, rode there once a week, and then eventually got offered to train as a jockey. So that's how it transitioned into. to horse racing. The transition is almost like going from a standard Ford Fiesta or a Fiat

500 to suddenly being in a Formula One car. It's like long jump and high jump. Still jumps, but it's a different form. So I had to start from scratch, basically. Well, you grew up in inner London. It's not normally associated with horse riding. How important has it been to you and your development as a person? I learned a lot from learning to ride in an inner city, but But I definitely say it was strange to speak to people at school and meet people and tell them that that was my hobby because they immediately assumed I was wealthy, which obviously is in the case.

I came from a very working class background. My parents are immigrants that came to this country about 30 years ago with nothing. And, you know, it's such a privilege to be able to be part of the equestrian world. It's really hard to break into. So it was a bit of a journey. It still is, to this day. Hard to sometimes progress and open doors.

It's a lot about who you know and what you know. and obviously I'm a bit of an outsider when it comes to horse racing and the equestrian world so you have to forge those connections the long way but patience is a virtue and some doors are finally opening and what would you say to children from a similar background keep pushing perseverance honestly like if you keep knocking on doors eventually one or two of them will open and you know you've got to have to literally tolerate getting thrown off a horse and getting back on

trying something new and being out of your comfort zone as well that's something that I would recommend trying to be brave and not letting people's sort of biases or their preconceived stereotypes of who you are and what you are dictate your narrative. And of course you must be a great role model for the children in Brixton now attending the stables that you learned at. I mean, I literally sent an email earlier today

because one of the students from Ebony, I've helped him join the Writing a Dream Academy and now he's working in a racing stable and we're trying to get him involved in some races and although a lot of the kids that I grew up with at Ebony are now trying to get involved in the horse racing world and, you know, the academy that we set up with Naomi and Oli are giving them a great place to facilitate their growth

and a safe space for them to learn to ride racehorses. So yeah, it's been really positive and really beautiful being able to give back and seeing the next generation progress alongside me. For me, I really struggled to transition to racing alone. It was quite scary and, you know, really overwhelming. But to do that with, you know, other people

and creating a pathway where, you know, as a group, people could progress together. I think that was the best and most successful route to maintain that stream of, you know, talent because I was a one-off, but used to say there aren't many other young people with talent in a horse racing world that just haven't had the opportunity

or the incentive to try it. Cadeja Mella, amid a busy summer of international football and the start of the English press, Premier League season, there was a small tournament you may have missed, the Homeless World Cup. It brings together organisations from across the globe that are using the sport to tackle homelessness and social isolation. The event was held in Norway last weekend, with Uganda winning the women's title and Egypt taking the men's. One man who knows all about the difference it can make is David Duke, the chief executive and founder of Street Soccer Scotland.

He told my colleague, Katie Smith, he was sleeping rough and living in hostels when he saw an advert for the Homeless World Cup back in 2004. It came at a time for me when, you know, I didn't really have anything to look forward to. You know, I was just trying to get through day by day, no hope, no sense of purpose.

And then suddenly this kind of, you know, football tournament arrived, and went along, and then I was asked to be part of the squad. And so for the next three months, I had purpose and I had something to look forward to, I was looking forward to going playing twice a week when you're in that position sometimes it's hard to find pieces of hope and something to look forward to

and suppose a bit of a purpose and that became my purpose and you know went to the tournament in Sweden in Gothenburg and that experience really became a catalyst for me to kind of start moving forward you know trying to keep myself busy and I started volunteering doing kids football coaching

and that took me back into house and education employment and then having did that for you know works in homelessness and youth work and football coaching in 2009 I realised that if we could provide something every week it could be a real turning point you know because it can become quite isolating and also you don't sometimes know where to turn for help and actually if you can start a healing process on the football pitch

I mean the coaches aren't coaches they're support workers or community workers their mentors, you know, their role models and start to build those relationships then allows people to access additional support that they might need. So explain to us who might not have heard of the Homeless World Cup. What is it and who takes part?

The tournament's all about using the power of football to change lives. So there'll be 64 countries taking part this year. And all those countries are represented by organisations who are using football to tackle homelessness and social isolation. And then, you know, once a year, players from these projects get taken to represent a country

at an international tournament. It's an amazing experience, you know, it's full of colour, full of joy, full of hope. With helping people who are experiencing homelessness, do you feel like the Homeless World Cup is the best use of resources to do that? Because I just wonder if other people might look at it and think, you know, are there other ways to,

tackle this sort of problem in society? I think it's a complex issue which means that there has to be many solutions to actually solve it, you know? So the Homeless World Cup and street soccer we help people find a community and find belief and find access to additional support and a safe and friendly environment, you know,

which is when it comes to kind of looking at tackling homeless housing has to be part of it all the time but it can't only be housing, it has to be, build support networks for people, et cetera, because, you know, when homelessness affects someone, it's normally because of a crisis and because of a lack of support. You know, and what we're trying to do

is make sure that supports there for when people can move out of homelessness, you know. So I think things that the homeless work up raises awareness of the issues. It shows people experiencing of homelessness in a different light as well, rather than that stereotypical guy sitting begging under a bridge.

The homeless can often be seen as a kind of hopeless situation, but actually we need to find hope over that that homeless this can be ended. People can live the life that they want to live and be happy and proud of, you know, and I think Almost World Cup and Street Soccer, Scotland and Street Soccer London

are a vehicle for that. David Duke was speaking to Katie Smith for Not Buy the Playbook, available wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Coming up in this podcast, the remarkable recovery of a woman who underwent a rare triple organ transplant. Life is great. I mean, I'm able to enjoy everything that I always wanted to continue doing. And I feel that I'm able to keep up with my family now.

Now it's an invention that began as a way to help a friend. gone on to help thousands. Around the world, an estimated 5 billion people still wash their clothes by hand, often spending hours a day and suffering aching joints and skin irritation. So after seeing the problem during a year volunteering his skills in southern India, British Sikh engineer Navjot Sawney was determined to find a solution. As in Kem Iffoduku found out, the result was a hand-cranked washing machine named after Nav's neighbour in that Tamil Nadu village. The most beautiful friendship I have on the street is with a lady called Divya. She has two kids.

She wants to feel like she's providing more than she already is. But she feels like the thing that's keeping her back is the household chores. She washes clothes every single day. sometimes for two to three hours a day and I have conversations all the time about why does she wash clothes like this? I'll buy you an electric washing machine

and she says to me Nav, I wouldn't be able to power this electric wash machine I don't have running water all the time your electric washing machine wouldn't have any effect on my life this is the exact moment where I had the realization that I want to make a washing machine that works for you, Divya,

and I'm going to promise you that I will come back here and I will bring this washing machine to you. Nav signed up for a master's degree in humanitarianism, conflict and development. And in 2018, less than two years after his revelation in India, he joined forces with his fellow students to get the washing machine project started. We're eating our samosas in my mum's kitchen.

Thanks, ma'am. And we see the salad spinner. We're like, why don't we just create a salad spinner, but with clothes, didn't it? And we take off our socks. We literally start washing our socks in the salad spinner. And it's funny because the salad spinner has never been used for food ever again. The machine is a big steel drum standing about 1 metre 20 off the ground. Mounted on wheels, it's really light.

You put the clothes, water and detergent into a door on the top. and there's a handle on the front which you turn to do the wash, and a tap where you empty out the water once you've finished. They are made from very thin sheets of steel, easy to transport and fold into shape, and easy to dismantle. They have now distributed nearly 1,000 machines to 11 countries around the world. That includes Tamil Nadu in India, the place where the idea was born. Sarasu Murugan is 42 and has three jobs as well as doing all the household chores.

When I used to wash clothes, sitting or squatting, I would get severe pain in the bones around my hip and shoulder. I spend my free time now with my children. Spending such time with the children gives me happiness. For her daughter, Ishwarya, it means more time to pursue her dream of becoming a diplomat. She's at school at the moment, but also has to help her mother with the chores. It helps us in many ways, like time-consuming, and even, Even my sister can do that work, my father can do.

He can't wash clothes by his hands, but he can do it in the washing machine. She wants to become a government official so she can help other women and girls. I, as a girl kid, has to do houseworks, even my studies. So if I became an officer, I'll get schemes like this to introduce in my country to help those children. It has changed my life. It can also change girls' life like me. Seven years after his promise to his neighbour, Divya, now returned to the village where it all started.

And there Divya is waiting outside her house, and everyone is so emotional. And she turns to the washing machine for the first time. And everyone starts clapping and crying. And she says, Nav, there are millions of people like me around the world. Go find them. And that's what we're doing. And you can hear more about the washing machine project

in a special episode of People Fixing the World, wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Now for a story that links a world-famous indie band, one of the most iconic rappers of all time, and the renovation of an old chapel in a tiny town in Wales. Will Chalk takes up the story. When Ervon Watkins's daughter started school in Bristol in England 20 years ago, it's fair to say he wasn't actively looking to make any new friends at the school gate. But Irvon's a huge music fan.

So imagine his surprise when one of those parents turned out to be Ian Matthews, the drummer from the band Casabian. And after getting chatting at a school event, Irvon and Ian have been best friends ever since. The parent-teachers evening that we sort of really bonded over was sponsored by a brewery, which sounds really weird for a primary school. We're sitting in little children's chairs drinking pints of real ale, eating curry. And that was our introduction to each other. It was a rock-in-roll parent-teacher's evening.

I mean, what goes on tour, stays on tour, is that right? Yeah, it's correct. Irvon's originally from Clonautid Wells in Wales, and with a population of just 850 people, it claims to be the smallest town in the UK. If it's famous at all, it's for hosting the annual Bog Snorkeling World Championships, which, as you might expect from the name,

is where people snorkel through a bog. So, a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, famous for its bogs. In other words, the last place anyone would pick to open a music venue. One day, everyone gave me a call and said, the chapel in my hometown has come up for sales, for auction. I'm going to go for it. Are you interested in getting involved if we win it? And I went, yeah, of course, absolutely. The pair bought a 250-year-old chapel, which they're now in the process of renovating, and they do want to turn it into a venue. But with a difference, Knowing they'll never make any money from ticket sales in such a tiny town,

they plan to let local people come to the shows for free. Irvon is a music technology entrepreneur and thinks they can instead make money by live streaming the gigs in the metaverse and selling virtual tickets to fans around the world. We use the chapel as a place of experimentation. What the community get out of that is a benefit is the chapel renovated. That chapel's going to be there for another 250 years. And this is where the iconic rapper joined. the story, because the music tech side of the business has since had investment from a company owned by none other than Snoop Dog.

So, in effect, Snoop Dog owns a bit of the chapel. Even though he is inadvertently funding its restoration, he probably isn't even aware that this chapel exists. He would have no idea. He'd have no idea. I'd be very, very surprised if he knew it existed. And as for Ian and Irvon, they think they're about six months away from being able to put on their first gig. And if only you knew a world-famous indie band who could play the opening night. Ian, can you think of any, I'm trying to think. Well, I haven't searched with them about that yet. Casabian drummer Ian Matthews, ending that report by Will Chalk.

A woman in the US is looking forward to the simple pleasure of dancing at her own wedding after recovering from an extremely rare triple organ transplant. As a child, Jessica Lopez had leukemia and the eye cancer retinoblastoma, which made her blind. Years of chemotherapy left her needing a new heart, liver and kidney. Then in February this year, she received all three in a single operation, and just surviving the lengthy procedure is something to celebrate. But Jessica, who's now 32 and from Chicago, says she's also now planning her wedding. She spoke to my colleague, Victoria Owencunda, along with her surgeon, Dr. Benjamin Breiner, of Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

We talked a lot about what to expect beforehand and about the great team that we have for doing transplantation. We, of course, frequently do single organ transplants, sometimes do double organ transplants, either heart and liver or liver and kidney. So we do have experience working with multiple teams together, but of course this was one more. step of complexity. But we talked through everything that we had planned and all the ways we communicate and what would be happening when and did our best to reassure her. At any moment, there were probably 12 or 13 people in the operating room, but different people rotated in and it out as their expertise was required at different stages. This is one of the rarest operations, if I'm no mistaken, they've only been 59 triple transplants in the United States to date. How long

would you say that this took? And how big was this? The phase to implant the liver and the heart took probably a total of 10 or 11 hours and then the kidney transplant was separate and took another three to four hours. Jessica, under all that, I imagine you were under anesthetics. Tell us what it was like waking up from those hours, waking up and knowing that you had a new heart, you had a new liver, you had the new kidney? Yes, as soon as I woke up, the first thing I remember was asking what day it was and what time it was. Another thing that I noticed as soon as I woke up was how warm my hands were and my feet as well. Before the transplant, I used to actually always have very cold hands and feet. How is life now? Life is great. I mean, I'm able to enjoy everything

that I always wanted to continue doing and I feel that I'm able to keep up with my family now. out and we're able to go places where before we would actually have to kind of think about traveling to. One of those things was working out in the gym or exercising as well as walking for long distance, going to a park or just enjoying nature outside, as well as traveling and being able to keep up with family. Dr. Bryna, what the organs from different people or from one person? No, from one donor. That's the best way to ensure good matching so that and minimizing the chances of rejection so that there's only one sort of set of foreign antigens that the recipient's body is exposed to. And how is she doing today? How is Jessica

today? I imagine that you keep following her up. Yeah, of course. She's doing terrific doing even better, I think, than we hoped. She bounced back even faster than we hoped from our standpoint doing remarkably well. Jessica, when is the wedding? We are aiming, hopefully, for next year. Next year. And then part of the things that you said that you couldn't do before are going to the gym, I imagine top of the list then at the wedding is dancing. Definitely. That is one thing I'm looking forward to. Jessica Lopez and transplant surgeon, Dr. Benjamin Briner. And that's all from the happy pod for now. If you have a story you think we should cover or a comment on anything you've heard, we'd love to hear from you.

Just send us a voice note or an email to Global Podcast at BBC.com.uk. And you can now watch some of our interviews on YouTube. Just search for the Happy Pod. This edition was mixed by Derek Clark and the producers were Holly Gibbs, Harry Bly and Rachel Bulkley. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Bernadettechio. Until next time, goodbye. Thank you.