Modern breast cancer screening and treatment have transformed survival. Many women now live long and healthy lives after diagnosis, thanks to increasingly effective chemotherapy and targeted therapies: medicines designed to attack particular features of cancer cells.

But as cancer outcomes improve, another challenge has become more apparent: protecting the heart from the side-effects of treatment.

Some breast cancer treatments can affect heart health. These include anthracyclines, a group of chemotherapy drugs, and trastuzumab, a targeted therapy used to treat HER2-positive breast cancers: cancers that have high levels of HER2, a protein that helps cells grow and divide.

In some patients, these treatments can weaken the heart’s ability to pump blood around the body or contribute to heart failure. Other cancer treatments can increase the risk of abnormal heart rhythms.

Early changes may not cause obvious symptoms. By the time a patient experiences breathlessness, fatigue or palpitations, the sensation that the heart is pounding or beating irregularly, damage may already have occurred.

A small study, which is yet to be peer reviewed, suggests that regular blood tests and heart traces could help doctors detect warning signs earlier.

Researchers followed 50 women with stage 1 to 3 breast cancer, cancer that had not spread to distant organs, through six cycles of chemotherapy. They measured cardiac troponin I, a protein released into the blood when heart muscle cells are injured. They also recorded electrocardiograms (ECGs), which measure the electrical activity controlling the heartbeat.

They found that troponin levels rose during treatment. ECG abnormalities also became more common, including prolonged QT intervals, which is the time the heart’s lower chambers take to contract and prepare for the next beat. If this takes longer than usual, the risk of a dangerous irregular heartbeat can increase.

Larger studies are needed to confirm these findings, but the research adds to evidence that signs of heart stress can sometimes be detected before a patient develops symptoms.

Troponin and heart health

Troponin tests have been used for more than two decades to help diagnose a heart attack (myocardial infarction).

A raised troponin level does not always mean that someone has had a heart attack, because heart damage can have other causes. During chemotherapy, raised levels may reveal small amounts of heart muscle damage before conventional measures of heart function begin to worsen.

A 2004 report identified troponins as promising biomarkers: measurable signs in the body that can indicate injury or disease.

A later clinical study found that persistently raised troponin levels during high-dose chemotherapy predicted a decline in the pumping ability of the left ventricle, the heart’s main pumping chamber. Troponin may therefore offer an early warning that a patient is at greater risk of future heart problems.

Adding pieces to the puzzle

Established forms of heart monitoring remain important. One commonly used measure is left ventricular ejection fraction, or LVEF. This is the percentage of blood pumped out of the left ventricle with each beat. It is usually assessed using an echocardiogram, an ultrasound scan of the heart.

Echocardiograms remain central to heart monitoring during cancer treatment. But LVEF can remain normal while subtler changes are developing.

Doctors can also use a measure called global longitudinal strain, which looks more closely at how well the heart muscle squeezes and relaxes. It may reveal changes before they show up in the ejection fraction.

Blood tests and ECGs could provide additional pieces of the puzzle. An ECG is quick, painless and widely available. Some chemotherapy drugs can disrupt electrical activity in heart cells, increasing the risk of abnormal rhythms, or arrhythmias. Regular ECG monitoring may help to identify patients who need closer observation.

A more personalised approach

A raised troponin level does not necessarily mean that a patient will develop heart failure. An abnormal ECG does not guarantee a serious irregular heartbeat. These tests identify signs that the heart may be under strain and help doctors assess risk.

The emerging field of cardio-oncology focuses on protecting the heart health of people with cancer before, during and after treatment.

Doctors are increasingly tailoring monitoring to each patient’s risk. Existing heart health, age, blood pressure, diabetes risk and previous exposure to treatments that may damage the heart can influence the level of monitoring required.

If doctors detect rising troponin levels or ECG changes, they may carry out tests more frequently, refer the patient to a heart specialist with expertise in cancer care or consider treatments intended to protect the heart.

This does not necessarily mean stopping cancer treatment. The aim is to manage risks while allowing patients to continue receiving effective care wherever possible.

The latest research does not provide a standalone test for predicting who will develop heart problems after breast cancer treatment. Troponin levels and ECG changes must be interpreted alongside other information. Scientists still need better evidence about how early warning signs should influence treatment decisions.

But the principle is important. As more people survive breast cancer, protecting their long-term health becomes increasingly urgent. The goal is no longer simply surviving cancer. It is maintaining heart health after treatment has ended.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar has paid a heartfelt tribute to her on-screen mentor, actor Anthony Head

Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar has posted a moving tribute to actor Anthony Head on Instagram, leaving fans heartbroken.

The British actor, celebrated for playing Buffy’s mentor Rupert Giles throughout all seven series of the beloved fantasy programme, passed away aged 72 following complications from pneumonia.

He died peacefully with his family by his side. His daughters, actresses Emily and Daisy Head, released a statement saying: “It has been, and forever will be, an honour and a privilege to be his daughters, and to have witnessed firsthand the impact both he and his work have had on so many.

“We know how dearly he will be missed by friends, colleagues, and fans of the shows he was in – he loved his job very much, and he always considered himself incredibly lucky, to have been able to work alongside such exceptionally talented people, in such wonderful productions, across a career that spanned several decades”, reports the Mirror.

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Gellar has added her voice to those honouring the cherished actor with an Instagram post containing multiple behind-the-scenes photographs of Head alongside the Buffy ensemble.

Referencing the show, she posted: “‘Tell Giles I figured it out and I’m ok’ Well I don’t have it figured out and I’m not ok.

“But I know I’m the lucky one because I knew you. Thank you to Daisy and Emily who not only shared their dad with me, but with the world.”

Her post today (Friday, 5th June) was instantly flooded with messages of sympathy from supporters.

One admirer responded: “Im so sorry for your loss Sarah, the whole world is missing their Watcher right now that’s for sure.”

Another person wrote: “This has been a rough couple years for the buffyverse. My heart is just broken.”

A third said: “Absolutely heartbroken. Giles was the father figure that so many of us never had.”

And one final supporter penned: “My heart is broken we lost a true angel.”

Head’s subsequent roles included his antagonistic turn in Apple TV’s popular sports comedy Ted Lasso, Bill in Motherland, and Lord Sheffield in an episode of Netflix’s Bridgerton.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is available to stream on Disney+ and ITVX.

Morgan Rogers and Julian Alvarez have both linked with moves to the Emirates Stadium, while there has been significant updates regarding their pursuit of Jeremy Monga and Eli Junior Kroupi. Liverpool, meanwhile, have confirmed the appointment of Andoni Iraola as head coach and are hopeful of making Yan Diomande their first signing. Man United are set to sign Ederson after reaching an agreement with Atalanta for a £35million deal, but are said to have shelved contract talks with captain Bruno Fernandes.

The woman was stopped from boarding a flight after refusing to pay for excess baggage, but stormed her way onboard and reportedly sank her teeth into a police officer’s arm

A passenger allegedly bit a police officer after sparking chaos on a plane when she refused to pay for excess baggage.

The woman ignored airline staff who stopped her from boarding a low-cost JetSmart flight after her hand luggage was found to be overweight.

Instead of resolving the issue at the gate, she reportedly slipped past checks and boarded flight JA 3104 anyway, just minutes before it was due to depart from Buenos Aires for Cordoba.

Airport police were called to remove her from the plane – but officers faced a struggle inside the cabin. During the confrontation, the passenger allegedly sank her teeth into the right arm of a female assistant officer as fellow travellers watched on.

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Videos filmed by passengers captured the dramatic scenes as officers struggled to restrain the woman inside the cabin, with some people applauding as she was finally escorted off the aircraft.

The incident happened at Jorge Newbery Airpark in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Tuesday. The woman was treated for minor injuries at the airport’s medical centre following her arrest.

The flight was delayed briefly before eventually departing.

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JetSmart had been carrying out strict hand-luggage checks at the gate, even asking passengers to remove jackets to prevent hidden items. The airline has not issued a public statement on the matter.

Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Federal Court No. 3 has ordered the woman’s detention and taken statements from the injured officer, a shift supervisor and JetSmart crew members who witnessed the incident.

No formal charges have yet been announced and the case remains under judicial review.

President Donald Trump issued a memo Friday that calls for the U.S. military and national security agencies to accelerate their use of artificial intelligence, while acknowledging the need to protect civil liberties and maintain oversight over autonomous weapon systems.

The memo comes at a time of growing anxiety over AI in American society, from replacing people’s jobs to helping to identify targets on the battlefield. The Trump administration has been pushing to unleash the power of AI for the U.S. military, while some military leaders and companies that contract with the Pentagon have been noting caution and calling for guardrails.

Trump’s memo addressed much of his Cabinet, including the secretaries of defense and homeland security as well as the attorney general and director of national intelligence.

Trump is requiring an updated directive on autonomous weapon systems to account for AI’s rapidly evolving capabilities. It directs the Department of Defense “to ensure the deliberate adoption of AI systems that respect the chain of command and operational authorities.”

The current directive, issued in 2023 under the Biden administration, states that such weapons systems will be designed “to allow commanders and operators to exercise appropriate levels of human judgment over the use of force,” according to the Congressional Research Service.

Trump’s memo also restricts the use of AI to “censor free speech, embed ideological bias, or conduct unlawful surveillance against the American people.”

“The use of AI by the national security enterprise must always be consistent with United States civil liberties and protections afforded by the Constitution and laws and regulations safeguarding the privacy of American citizens,” the memo states.

The Defense Department has already been accelerating its use of AI in recent years. The technology can help reduce the time it takes to identify and strike a target, while aiding in the mundane tasks of organizing equipment maintenance, supply lines and other logistics.

But concerns about protecting civil liberties and human oversight of autonomous weapon systems have drawn increasing attention. They’re at the center of a dispute that erupted this year as the Pentagon seeks to leverage the power of American tech companies to boost the military’s AI capabilities.

The company Anthropic said it wanted assurances in its contract that the military would not use its technology in fully autonomous weapons and the surveillance of Americans. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the company must allow for any uses the Pentagon deemed lawful.

Anthropic sued after Trump tried to stop all federal agencies from using the company’s chatbot Claude and Hegseth sought to label the company a supply chain risk, a designation meant to protect against sabotage of national security systems by foreign adversaries.

Concerns about military use of AI arose during Israel’s war against militants in Gaza and Lebanon, with U.S. tech giants quietly empowering Israel to track targets. But the number of civilians killed also soared, fueling fears that these tools contributed to the deaths of innocent people.

U.S. military leaders who attended an annual special forces conference in Tampa, Florida, spoke about the benefits of AI as well as the need for human safeguards.

Adm. Frank Bradley, head of U.S. Special Operations Command, told attendees that troops “have to be very careful about how we come to (AI’s) employment and its inspiration into the delivery of lethality.”

Bradley said he can see a future where AI determines what targets to hit but that “we, as humans, have to have the confidence that … it’s going to deliver violence only where we intend it to be delivered.”

The One Show presenters Alex Jones and Roman Kemp paid tribute to two stars during Friday’s BBC programme.

The One Show hosts Alex Jones and Roman Kemp have paid their respects to two prominent figures.

The presenters fronted Friday’s BBC programme, welcoming Kelly Cates, Josh O’Connor and Eve Hewson to the studio, along with a live performance from Myles Smith.

Following Kelly’s discussion about the forthcoming World Cup, and Josh and Eve’s conversation about Steven Spielberg’s new sci-fi film Disclosure Day, the hosts paused to honour Kanya King and Anthony Head.

Just before Myles took to the stage, Roman said: “On the subject of music, we’ve got to mention the sad news today that the founder of the Mobo Awards, an event Myles has performed at, Kanya King, has died at the age of 57.

“And we’re also thinking of the much loved actor Anthony Head who has died at the age of 72,” reports the Mirror.

“Our thoughts go out to their family and friends.”

Alex concurred, “Absolutely,” before transitioning to a segment about an event taking place in Manchester this weekend celebrating the life of Ricky Hatton following his death last year.

Mobo Awards founder King has been remembered as a “visionary” who “changed the face of culture and music”, with her passing at 57 confirmed earlier today.

The Mobo Organisation released a statement confirming that King had passed away following “a courageous and characteristically determined battle with colon cancer”.

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Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Ted Lasso actor Anthony Head has also passed away, aged 72.

“He passed away peacefully of complications due to pneumonia, surrounded by his family,” his daughters Emily and Daisy said.

Their statement continued: “It has been, and forever will be, an honour and a privilege to be his daughters, and to have witnessed firsthand the impact both he and his work have had on so many.”

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Meanwhile on The One Show, Kelly provided an update on her father Sir Kenny Dalglish’s health, following his announcement earlier in the week that he was receiving treatment for cancer.

During the programme, Alex asked Kelly: “We have to, of course, your dad, Sir Kenny Dalglish. So sorry that he’s unwell at the minute, but he must be looking forward to watching Scotland? He knows how to score for Scotland!”

Kelly responded: “Yeah, he scored in 1978 when I was a very small child. I don’t remember this one, but again it was one of those middle of the night World Cups that everybody was staying up for.

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“I know it’s not ideal for people but it is a real event, everybody goes into school the next day and they’re exhausted, there’s all the drama and waiting up.

“The pubs are going to be kept open late so everyone can watch it. I think, in his 70s Scotland’s 2am kick off might be a push for him but he’ll get there!”

The One Show airs weeknights from 7pm on BBC One and iPlayer.

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He was from Arizona, and went on to explain how people in the US don’t fall over themselves to apologise all the time like we do.

It’s true – we Brits are always keen to say sorry, often when it isn’t our fault. An hour previously I had said sorry to a woman who flung her backpack in my face while barging across a crowded rail platform – a ‘sorry’ hotspot. “Why did you apologise to her?” my husband asked.

He says sorry far less than I do, but then he is half Dutch, so maybe that explains it. I’m 100 per cent British and I apologise for almost everything. If someone steps on my foot I’ll say sorry. If someone lets a door slam in my face I’ll say sorry. In public settings I will often say: “Sorry, is this seat taken?,” when it clearly isn’t.

It drives my husband mad. “Sorry, but I bought these raspberries yesterday and they are all black underneath” I said while returning them to a supermarket last week. He told me: “Why are you sorry – they sold you rotten produce, you are entitled to return them.”

He’s always telling me to stop over-apologising for things that are not my fault.

I even apologise when I call helplines. “I’m sorry to bother you,” I will ask, while speaking with customer services.

British people say sorry on average nine times a day, according to research carried out last year by Babbel, a German language learning app. I would put the true figure at double that, for me at least.

In her book of English culture, Watching the English, social anthropologist Kate Fox identified a uniquely ‘English sorry reflex’. As part of her research she deliberately bumped into hundreds of people and intentionally jumped queues in towns and cities across England to record reactions. She encouraged colleagues to do the same while overseas, for comparison.

Fox found that around 80 per cent of English victims said sorry, even though the collisions were clearly her fault. Compared to when tourists from other countries were bumped, the difference was marked. Fox points out that only the Japanese have a similar culture, often leaving foreigners baffled by the constant apologies.

Saying sorry is definitely more a woman thing. In my experience females apologise far more often, and for far more trivial things. I believe it’s a sign of low self-confidence. We want to leave a good impression with others, so cover our backs by apologising. But in reality it works the other way, people don’t tend to respect those who constantly say sorry. They see us as weak, especially in the workplace.

But, of course, it’s a vital word in polite society. The well-known saying ‘Never explain, never apologise’ – attributed to the 19th-century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli – would make for a very unlikeable person.

Nowadays, politicians and others in high office are constantly being asked to say sorry.

Saying sorry is also a way of protecting ourselves, avoiding potential conflict. We live in hostile times, on a planet populated by many rude, aggressive people and the desire to avoid that at all cost is lodged within our consciousness.

Online, there’s no shortage of analysis over why we British apologise so often, and a host of theories as to why we do it. There’s no definitive answer, so if you expected to find one in this column, I’m sorry.

Mohammad Bashir, aged 31 and from Shaftsbury Road in Manchester, appeared at the Old Bailey on Friday (June 5) and pleaded guilty to preparing terrorist acts.

On August 14, 2025, Bashir drove Jihad Al-Shamie – the now-dead Manchester synagogue terrorist – to the UK Defence Academy in Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, for hostile reconnaissance.

Jonathan Polnay KC, prosecuting, said: “In these circumstances, the court could pass a sentence on Bashir that reflects the seriousness of the offending behaviour.”

Al-Shamie later killed Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby at Heaton Park Synagogue in Crumpsall on October 2.

Al-Shamie, 35, drove a Kia Picanto into the synagogue gates before attacking worshippers with a knife while wearing a fake suicide belt.

He was shot dead at the scene by armed police.

Bashir was arrested at Manchester Airport on November 27 but was not charged in connection with the synagogue attack.

He had denied the terrorism charge, as well as three counts of disseminating terrorist material in a WhatsApp group in November and December 2024.

Mr Polnay said these lesser charges formed the background to the more serious offence Bashir has now admitted.

He said he had received a basis of plea from the defence that would be considered by prosecutors.

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said: “very serious charge”.

She ordered a pre-sentence report and set a two-day sentencing hearing at Manchester Crown Court for July 20 and 21.

Bashir was remanded into custody.

His plea was entered one month before his trial was due to begin in Manchester on July 6.