The people have spoken. I offered to have my head 3D-scanned while making a ridiculous face originated by John "Rubberface" Scalzi if enough was donated to Jay Lake's cancer treatment fundraiser. After an exhaustive poll, the Internet chose this face. I've started practicing already.

Dear Cory Doctorow: The Masses Have Decided That This is the Face You Shall Have Made Into a 3D Scan

Ian McKellen in "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," 2002. Photo: New Line Cinema

In an interview with The Mirror, Sir Ian McKellen revealed that he's been living with prostate cancer for several years. While it's upsetting news, he says that his form is "contained," and that he and his doctors are staying on top of it.

"Many, many men die from it but it’s one of the cancers that is totally treatable so I have 'waitful watching.' I am examined regularly and it’s just contained, it’s not spreading. I’ve not had any treatment."

"You do gulp when you hear the news. It’s like when you go for an HIV test, you go ‘arghhh is this the end of the road?’ They come and say you have cancer of the prostate and then they say you can have it zapped, you can have it snipped but you are not a candidate for that. You are waitful watching."

McKellen goes on to say that he remains diligent and hopeful for his chances at a full and lengthy life, which makes those of us who are fans very, very happy to hear.

Ian McKellen Reveals He Has Prostate Cancer [The Hollywood Reporter]

Designer Joey Roth is auctioning a limited run of 24-karat gold Sorapots to help out BB pal Amit Gupta, who recently fell ill with leukaemia: "South Asians are severely underrepresented in the pool of registered bone marrow donors. 100% of profits from the auctions will go to drives, both here and in India, to find and register potential donors."

The odds of someone of South Asian descent finding a match are only 1 in 20,000.

Here's my review of the Sorapot from some time ago.

Sorapot - 24k Gold Limited Edition to benefit Amit Gupta [eBay auction]

Friend of Boing Boing Amit Gupta was recently diagnosed with cancer, and he needs help finding a bone marrow donor match. In fact, for someone of South Asian descent, the odds of finding a donor are currently only 1 in 20,000. But we can change that. A few ways to help:

1. If you're South Asian, get a free test by mail. You rub your cheeks with a cotton swab and mail it back. It's easy.

2. If you're in NYC, you can go to this event organized by friends of Amit. Or organize a donor drive near you (the most helpful thing you could possibly do!) email 100kcheeks@gmail.com. They’ll send you kits, flyers, tell you what to say, and make the whole process easy cheesy.

3. If you know any South Asians (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, or Sri Lanka), please point 'em to the links above. Thank you.