Man dies from uterine cancer passed on by transplant

A man has died of cancer, given to him via a transplant. For Vincent Liew, the kidney he received from a woman seemed to be a lifesaver, but it ended up being a killer.

Donor Sandy Cabrera had died of a stroke the day before Liew received her kidney. It wasn't until an autopsy found the uterine cancer, days after her death, that it was known that she carried the disease. At that time, Liew's doctors doubted it could spread to him.

Seven months later, however, Liew was killed by cancer that his autopsy linked to the transplant. His death is believed to be the only reported instance of uterine cancer apparently being transmitted by transplant, medical experts say. It is also the subject of a medical malpractice trial in which closing arguments were scheduled for Thursday.

What is unclear is why the news of Cabrera's cancer took so long to reach Liew's New York City transplant surgeon, Dr. Thomas Diflo. Liew's transplant was Feb. 25, 2002; the news did not reach Diflo until April 17, 2002.

Kimberly Liew, his widow, is suing the transplant hospital, NYU Langone Medical Center, saying doctors there should have removed the kidney as soon as they learned of the donor's cancer. However, Diflo testified that he told Liew the safest route was to remove the kidney, although he did tell Liew the odds of developing the cancer were slim, as it was uterine cancer.

As such, Liew himself made the decision to keep the kidney. Tests given from May to August found no indication of cancer in the kidney. It was later that year, suffering from back pain, that Liew had Diflo remove the kidney, on Aug. 29, 2002. Once removed, it was apparent the kidney was laden with tumors; Liew died within a month.

Two-year-old Indonesian chain-smoker: Video

The U.S. has seen smoking in decline for some time. Other countries aren't necessarily following suit. Sometimes, they seem to be encouraging their kids to smoke, too, as in the case of this two year old.

Ardi Rizal, a 2-year-old Indonesian toddler, has a 40-cigarette-a-day smoking habit. While local officials has offered to buy the family a new car if he quits, his parents are apparently afraid of his tantrums.

His mother is Diana, 26, who said, "He's totally addicted. If he doesn't get cigarettes, he gets angry and screams and batters his head against the wall. He tells me he feels dizzy and sick." Meanwhile, his father sees nothing wrong with it. Mohammed, 30, said: "He looks pretty healthy to me. I don't see the problem."

Watch the disturbing video and sound off.

Large marijuana seizure turns into simple yard work

What had been originally pegged as "one of the largest marijuana plant seizures in the police department's history" in terms of a Texas police department, instead turned into a bad day of weeding. It turned out the weed in question was actually just that, a simple weed.

It all happened in Corpus Christi, TX. At about 8PM on Thursday night, a teenage bike rider discovered what he thought were marijuana plants growing in Waldron Park in Flour Bluff.

Officers ultimately spent hours tagging and removing some 400 plants from the city park. Only after testing did they discover that the plants were Horse Mint, a member of the mint family, and certainly not something you could get high on.

In effect, the police operation turned into mere yard work.

Watch a video report:

Octomom receives $5,000 to promote spaying, neutering pets

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is paying octomom Nadya Suleman $5,000 to display a sign in her La Habra front yard. The sign says, "Don't Let Your Dog or Cat Become an Octomom. Always Spay or Neuter."

As an added perk, PETA is throwing in a free month's supply of veggie burgers and veggie hot dogs for Nadya Suleman and her 14 children. Suleman became famous, first for having octuplets, and then after people found out that she had them when she had eight embryos implanted via in vitro fertilization, after already having six other children that way.

Nadya Suleman has also been offered a chance by Vivid Entertainment, one of the world's largest porn films producers. IF she agreed to make a porn film, Vivid has said they would pay off their mortgage.

However, Suleman's lawyer, Jeff Czech, indicated she had rejected that offer. He said to the AP, "No porn. Just PETA. Nadya prefers animals over men."

Uh, Jeff, read that a few times. We think it came out a little wrong.