On the pulse...for people affected by breast cancer

Cancerkin’s news update….

Children’s Corner – as mentioned a few weeks ago, the Hampstead Women’s Club have generously created a fantastic area for children at the Cancerkin Centre. It is stacked with toys, games, crayons and books and is a lovely environment for Mum’s who are being treated in hospital to spend time with their children away from the ward. The area is now open – so please do visit. On the topic of children, Breast Cancer Care has produced a book called Mummy’s Lump that tries to help explain to young children what their Mum is going through. Copies of the book can be ordered from BCC.

Fundraising events & activities – as you will know, all of our services are provided free of charge. We receive no income from the NHS or other statutory bodies, which means we have to raise all the funds needed to keep Cancerkin running. We are constantly thinking of new ways to raise funds, but we would like to know what you think? Please tell us what sort of events you like going to, whether you would like to hold an event yourself or be involved in one we are running. WE WANT YOUR IDEAS NOW! You can email us at n.waldman@cancerkin.org.uk

In the news…

New Lymph Node Test

The Times and the Daily Mail report on a relatively new procedure to check if cancer in the breast has spread to the lymph nodes. It is called a breast lymph node assay and it could make a real difference to the treatment time for breast cancer.
With this technique, patients having breast cancer surgery to remove a tumour can be tested immediately to see if the disease has spread to their lymph nodes. Usually, a small piece of tissue will be sent for testing, after the initial surgery, to see if the lymph nodes are affected; the tests can take 2-3 weeks. If the nodes are affected, the patient may require further surgery and thus a delay in starting chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. The assay produces results within 30-45 minutes, meaning that if necessary, the surgeon can treat the nodes during the same initial operation, thereby avoiding the need for further surgery. In addition it is thought that this method of testing is much more accurate than sending a sample to a lab for analysis.
This technique is already being used at two hospitals in the UK and in 2010 it is due to be recommended for implementation across the NHS.
Dr Graham Layer, breast surgeon at the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford, who started using the technique in 2007 said:
‘We can see cases where cancer has spread that we could not have spotted with conventional ultrasound or biopsy tests. For those women with a positive result, we are able to deal with that much more quickly than if we had waited for the results of routine pathology tests following a traditional breast cancer operation.’

For more information see:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article6897567.ece

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1224258/30-minute-breast-cancer-test-save-lives-thousands.html

Nicky Waldman (n.waldman@cancerkin.org.uk) 4 November 2009