UNS — The fashion world was shocked with the death of the Off-White label and the Artistic Director of Louis Vuitton (LV) Men Collection, Virgil Abloh.
The news about 41 years-old designer’s death was announced by his family through the @virgilabloh private Instagram account on Sunday (28/11/2021) local time. The family announced that the Off-White label founder was died due to the rare and aggressive cancer, angiosarcoma, or cardiac sarcoma that Abloh suffered from since 2019 and made him go through a series of medical treatments.
“We are saddened to announce the death of our beloved Virgil Abloh, a very devoted father, husband, son, brother, and friend. He left his beloved wife, Shannon Abloh, his children Lowe Abloh and Gray Abloh, his sister Edwina Abloh, his parents Nee and Eunice Abloh, and many dear friends and colleagues,” Virgil Abloh’s family wrote in Instagram.
The news was unexpected for many people, including sneakerhead, who praised his works. Besides, he died at a relatively young age due to his illness. The news also captured the attention of Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta Hospital Cardiologist, Habibie Arifianto, dr.,SpJP (K)., M.Kes., because Virgil Abloh’s condition is caused by a rare and malignant cancer that could affect anybody.
dr. Habibie explained that sarcoma is a malignant tumor in connective tissue or muscle, including angiosarcoma, a malignant tumor in blood vessels. Cardiac angiosarcoma/cardiac sarcoma, he added, is a malignant tumor in the heart caused by a primary tumor. “The tumor,” he explained, “comes from cardiac muscles, but is very rare, or from blood vessels around the heart that invade the tissue,” dr. Habibie explained to uns.ac.id on Monday (29/11/2021).
He added that there are several symptoms of cardiac sarcoma, including cardiac arrest that occurs when muscle tissue is replaced by tumor tissue, which then causes heart rhythm disturbances. These disturbances come from blood vessels and reduce blood flow that could lead to thromboembolism or blood clots in the heart that can break off and block into other blood vessels.
“Cancer often attacks people older than 40 years old. But because of unhealthy lifestyle at a young age, malignant illness could appear in young people,” dr. Habibie explained.
Considering its probability to attack basically everybody, it is crucial to understand the cause of cardiac sarcoma. As explained by dr. Habibie, cardiac sarcoma is similar to other malignant cancers; it could be caused by genetic factors triggered by free radicals, pollutions, cigarette smokes, or other dangerous vapors such as fumes from fertilizers, insecticides, and other radiation agents, to unhealthy food.
“The malignant characteristic of this cancer is due to its invasive and destructive activities toward healthy tissue, and smaller parts of it could be detached and spread to other body parts through the blood vessels or metastasis,” dr. Habibie explained.
On its probable treatment, dr. Habibie explained that patients could undergo surgical resection or surgical removal of the tumor when possible. But there is no definitive treatment, although patients could opt for chemotherapy or radiotherapy, even though the success rate is not quite satisfactory. Cardiac sarcoma could be diagnosed through echocardiography or ultrasound of the heart, which is a visible mass in the chambers of the heart. dr. Habibie also stated that CT scan for heart and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) also could be used in the diagnosis.
“The goal is to see the blood vessels that supply blood to the tumor and the spread of the sarcoma to surrounding organs,” he added.
dr. Habibie suggested that people go through screening if they experience any discomfort regarding their heart function to see if they have sarcoma or not. He also suggested that people diagnosed with sarcoma undergo all necessary treatments until they recover and to not waste too much time looking for consideration.
“Because this illness is very progressive, with early detection and medication, The prognosis of the disease will be better than if we are late in diagnosis and treat it,” he concluded. Humas UNS
Reporter: Y.C.A Sanjaya
Editor: Dwi Hastuti