18-year-old Japanese swimming prodigy has leukemia
On the morning of February 12, swimmer Rikako Ikee confirmed that she had leukemia.
Rikako Ikee, 18 years old, is a Japanese female swimmer. She has attracted the attention of the whole Asia since the 2018 Asian Games when she won a gold medal on the first day of competition on August 19, breaking the Asian Games record in the 4x100m event with a time of 3 minutes 36 seconds 52. She then won 2 more gold medals on August 20, one gold on August 21 and 2 gold medals on August 23 and 24. In total, she won 6 gold medals, making history in the Asian Games by breaking 6 records.
With this impressive achievement, Rikako Ikee is expected to be a key athlete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics hosted by Japan. However, according toIindependentOn the morning of February 12, on her personal page, Rikako Ikee confirmed that she had leukemia, which surprised many people. The young female swimmer gave up the opportunity to participate in this national championship.
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Swimmer Rikako Ikee received a gold medal at the 2018 ASIAD. Photo:Independent |
Rikako sends message to fans:
"To my fans! Thank you so much for your continued support and help throughout this time. After feeling unwell, I returned from training in Australia and had tests. Sadly, I was diagnosed with leukemia.
I was extremely surprised and still can't believe it. I had no choice but to give up competing in the national swimming championships. However, leukemia is a disease that can be completely cured with adequate treatment. Now I will rest a bit and focus on treatment so that I can show you a stronger Rikako Ikee as soon as possible. If you continue to look at me with warm eyes, I will be very happy."
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Fever, anemia, pain in limbs, bleeding... are early symptoms of leukemia. Photo:Health |
According to doctors, blood cancer, also known as leukemia, is a malignant cancer that appears when the body begins to have a sudden increase in white blood cells. The cause may be due to environmental factors such as chemical pollution, radioactive contamination or genetics. Fever, anemia, pain in the limbs, bleeding... are the first symptoms of the disease.
White blood cells are responsible for protecting the body. When their numbers increase suddenly, they lack food and nutrients, so white blood cells often eat red blood cells - an important component of blood. Red blood cells are gradually destroyed, so the patient becomes anemic and dies. This is the only cancer that does not create tumors.
Currently, there are some treatments for this disease but the effectiveness is not high. People in areas contaminated with radiation often get this disease, such as the two cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki after World War II.
