This article is part of a Because It Matters Newshub series.

Described as New Zealand's "most prolific cancer survivor", Phil Kerslake says he's worried the country's falling behind in terms of cancer care, and is urging the Prime Minister and the Health Minister to pick up the pace.

Kerslake, who's survived eight new diagnoses or recurrences of cancer since 1974, says while he thinks New Zealand's "come a long way", the Government is acting too slow on new cancer treatments.

The 60-year-old UK-born author - diagnosed with incurable lymphoma - said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Health Minister David Clark have been "very, very slow and considered" in their approach to cancer care for Kiwis. 

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Bitter, salty, sour, sweet

For chef Scott Adair, the diagnosis was a worst-case scenario. In 2014, he kept feeling short of breath when playing paintball with his son. “I thought I had inflamed lymph nodes or something,” he remembers. Instead, doctors gave the 49-year-old dad the news that there was a major mass in the back of his throat. A surgeon near Adair’s home in Asheville, North Carolina, told the chef that the only answer was surgery to remove his jawbone and almost half his tongue. The news put Adair into a state of shock. “My greatest tool is my tongue,” Adair says. “I make a living using my taste buds.” Would he really have to lose his tongue to save his life? Read more about this amazing story and the treatment... here..

 UK cancer patient receives new jaw thanks to 3D printing

3D printing techniques are being adopted with increasing regularity in surgery of all kinds, and more and more patients are seeing a hugely improved quality of life thanks to the unique benefits of the technology. The most recent success story took place in the UK, where a patient’s jawbone was entirely reconstructed using bone from his leg. The pioneering surgical procedure made use of 3D printing at various different stages. Read more here...