A 15-YEAR-OLD BOY DISCOVERS SOAP TO CURE CANCER!

Heman Bekele a 15-year-old kid spent last year developing a soap for skin cancer.

A 15-YEAR-OLD BOY DISCOVERS SOAP TO CURE CANCER! How often do we get to see this?

Heman Bekele a 15-year-old kid spent last year developing a soap for skin cancer. 

Heman Bekele was born in Ethiopia and after a few years, he immigrated to the US with his family. 

Heman's journey began when he received a chemistry set at the age of seven as a gift on Christmas, which also came with sodium hydroxide. Then, he became interested and started learning the power of chemical reactions. Around that time, he also started thinking more critically about the potential damage, prolonged sun exposure can have on the human body. This is how he became interested in the research surrounding skin cancer and its treatment. 

Bekele has been seeing the effects of the sun on people’s skin since he was a young boy growing up in Ethiopia. He noticed many people working in the sun without protecting their skin. He eventually learned about imiquimod, a drug that was already approved to treat some forms of skin cancer. When used in a cream form, it can also help destroy tumors. So, the 15-year-old found a way to use imiquimod to treat earlier stages of skin cancer. 

According to Heman, “Almost everyone uses soap and water for cleaning. So soap would probably be the best option.” 

In interviews, Heman has said, “I am really passionate about skin cancer research.” He also mentioned, “whether it’s my own research or what’s happening in the field.” 

For nearly 6 months now, Heman and molecular biologists have been conducting research on mice and other animals for skin cancer with the soap to observe its effects. They are now poised to conduct a controlled experiment and test the imiquimod soap against melanoma a type of skin cancer to evaluate its efficiency. In the next five years, Heman aims to own his innovative approach and establish a charitable organization that will distribute this low-cost solution to people in need.  

In 2023, through his research, Heman earned the ‘3M Young Scientist Award.’ 

Heman has found an accessible and affordable way to treat cancer and it’s commendable! It is said by him that there are still many stages for the soap to be approved. The price of the soap is said will be said to be approximately 9 US Dollars which will be very affordable, as treatment plans for skin cancer usually start from 40,000 US Dollars!  

This research is significant in the field of cancer. Heman has been awarded the title of ‘The Kid Of The Year’ by ‘The Time.’ 

We are looking forward to seeing Heman doing more significant research in the field of Science and getting more and more awards.