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

On the pulse

Cancerkin's News.....

Cancerkin Portugal Villa up for auction on eBay

A supporter of Cancerkin has very kindly donated her Portugal holiday villa to us, so that we can use it in a new fundraising drive. After much consideration we have decide to auction the stunning villa on eBay. Recently established Mission Fish, helps charities use eBay successfully to raise their profile and funds. With its own swimming pool, and exterior seating and diner area, the villa, which sleeps 10 is a real gem! This is another great way that you can support Cancerkin as well as bagging a treat for you and the family! Please direct everyone you know; family, friends, children’s friends and work colleagues to this site. The money raised really will make a very big difference to the work that Cancerkin do.

To view and start bidding on the villa please click here.

Book Club…

Final reminder that our next book club meeting will be on Tuesday 4th May at 11am. The text is Zoe Wicomb’s ‘Playing in the light’ and centres on South African Apartheid. The book is currently half price on Amazon. Please feel free to come and along for the chat, tea, coffee and cakes.

In the News…

A blood test to detect cancer? Possibly.

A simple blood test which looks for raised chemical ‘markers’ in the blood, has been said to detect the very early signs of breast cancer, potentially saving the lives of hundreds of women in years to come. Already used in the private sphere for around £500, the test could be regularly available on the health service within the next five years.

Developed by Norwegian company Diagenic ASA, the test has been proven to be 75% effective, with its results published in the Breast Cancer Research journal. Detecting a cancer tumour no bigger than a small seed, the blood test has the capacity to spot tumours much earlier than traditional x-ray scanning, which usually require a tumour to be 3-4 times the size. The risk of cancer spreading should thus become much smaller as a result of starting the process of treatment immediately.

Currently the test is being evaluated by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, with a trial involving 6,000 women at high risk of developing breast cancer is to due start next year. Dr James Mackay, an oncologist and researcher at University College London, said: ' This test will be particularly useful for younger women who are at risk of developing breast cancer’. Dr Fiona MacNeil, a breast surgeon at London's Marsden Hospital, said: 'The initial research studies show some promise but the usefulness of the test needs to be established by more detailed trials.'

Read the full article, with particular emphasis on the benefits for younger women with breast cancer here.


Weight gain as you age linked to increase risk in breast cancer..

Researchers have found that a woman who is 5'4 tall and who puts on just over two stone between the age of 20 and 50 is almost twice as likely to develop breast cancer after the menopause. This case study supports earlier research which has linked obesity to breast cancer.

The research which was presented to the American Association for Cancer Research found that fat stored in the body produces hormones and chemicals which may fuel the development of abnormal cells and potentially lead to cancer.

In the study which involved 72,000 women more than 3,600 of them developed breast cancer. Indeed, half of the 72,000 had an increase of 5 points in their BMI from age 20. Laura Sue, a cancer research fellow at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) said: "Compared with women who maintained approximately the same BMI, those who had an increase of 5 points or more between age 20 and study entry had a nearly twofold increased risk of breast cancer."

Read the full article here.

_________________________________________
Lauren Newton

l.newton@cancerkin.org.uk

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

On the pulse

Cancerkin’s News….
Children's Corner opening event
Friday 7th May marks the opening of our brand new Children’s Corner generously funded by the Hampstead Women’s Group. This fabulous group of dynamic women responded to our calls for a safe, fun and stimulating environment for children of our patients to play in whilst their mothers receive treatment. Life President, Santilal Parbhoo will be here to officially open the play area, where a plaque is mounted honouring the generosity and kindness of the Hampstead Women’s Group. The opening will be followed by a coffee and cake morning. Look out for pictures of the event during May on our Facebook and Flicker accounts.


In the News…
Scientist predict the end of breast cancer as we know it in a decades time
In 2005 Breakthrough Breast Cancer, the UK’s only dedicated breast cancer research centre discovered a new class of cancer drugs called PARP inhibitors. 5 years later the resident scientists are now putting together an army of drugs aimed at breast cancer. With the knowledge that breast cancer is not one disease but many, each with its own individualities, the lines of research and attack are extensive, but progress is being made. Professor Clare Isacke, deputy director of the centre looks positive, saying in specific reference to aggressive forms of cancerTop of For’ st arting to be picked off Bottom of Form ‘understanding the tumour biology better you can find new targets.”

Some of the work at Breakthrough includes the following two programmes. Having found that cancer-created blood vessels contain a substance called endosialin, which normal blood vessels do not, and acknowledging why endosialin is vital to the formation of tumour blood vessels, Nicole Simonavicius is on the road to producing ground breaking research due for release next year. Dr Nirupa Murugaesu, a breast oncologist at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, too is making progress trying to find clues about the cellular processes that cause breast cancer to spread to other parts of the body (metastasis).

Indeed secondary cancers are a priority of the centre, with very little still known about these cancers, even though they are the ones that usually kill people. Murugaesu is extremely positive about her research suggesting that it would be reasonable to suggest that through the work of Breakthrough Breast Cancer and others around the globe, breast cancer will cease to be a killer in just over a decade: “There isn’t going to be one wonder drug. But we will be giving women cocktails of drugs to weaken the cancer in multiple ways. In an ideal world, we’d prevent or cure breast cancer, but living with it as a chronic disease is considerably better than dying of it.”
Read the full article here along with the debate as to why breast cancer receives more funding than any other cancer form.

Lauren Newton 14th April 2010
l.newton@cancerkin.org.uk

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

On the pulse

Cancerkin’s news update….

Hyde Park Walk
The time of year is upon us again where preparation begins for our annual Cancerkin Hyde Park walk. This year the event will be held on Sunday 13th June, and our fingers are crossed for the same glorious weather we had last year! The Cancerkin team have been sending out all your invites, so please keep an eye out for a Cancerkin envelope in your post during this next week. All you need to do is fill in the entry form enclosed and send it back to us ASAP. We require one entry form per person, so if your household needs more than that please visit the events section on our website where you will find a downloadable version or ring the Cancerkin Centre to receive extras by post. Once you have registered, you can begin your sponsorship campaign. We would love to see of many of our Cancerkin supporters there as possible with their friends, families, dogs and grandchildren! If you think your child or grandchild’s class or school might be interested in getting involved please call or email me at l.newton@cancerkin.org.uk and I will send them some information!

If you already know you can not attend but would like to show your support, donations can be sent to the Cancerkin Centre marked for the attention of Lauren Newton. Please clearly state that your generous contribution is for the Hyde Park Walk event.

I look forward to seeing you all in June.

In the news…

Radiotherapy during cancer operations could spare weeks of X-rays
Research recorded by the University College London estimates that a pioneering new cancer treatment could cut waiting lists for radiotherapy and costs for the NHS at a staggering £15million pounds each year. The Intrabeam, a portable X-ray machine, targets radiotherapy at the very site of the tumour, during a breast operation, rather than after.

Of the 45,000 women per year diagnosed with breast cancer, two-thirds require radiotherapy after an operation- to kill any cells that may have been missed. More testing is needed, but Prof Michael Baum, professor emeritus of surgery at UCL, is positive stating: “if it works out, many women will be spared six weeks of treatment going back and forth to the radiotherapy centre.”
Furthermore the mobility that the machine allows means that treatment for very sick patients can be completely revolutionised. The European Breast Cancer Conference, held in Barcelona revealed that so far of the 77 patients who have been treated with the Intrabeam over the past seven years, just two have had their cancer return.

Last year Cancerkin bought and donated an Intrabeam machine for use at the Royal Free Hospital. We are very pleased to be a part of such revolutionary treatment and continue to follow its progress with interest.

To read the whole article please click here

Breast cancer screening IS useful…
The accuracy and efficiency of Breast Cancer screening has come under attack in recent months, with many suggesting it does little in the way of actively saving lives. However, new research reveals that for every case of over diagnosis, two lives are saved as a result.

A research group from Denmark found that among 80,000 women from the age of 50 across Sweden and England, 5.7 deaths from breast cancer were prevented for every 1,000 women screened over 20 years in England. The number of estimated cases of over diagnosis was 2.3 per 1,000 women over the same period. Such over diagnosis is attributed to the difficulty in distinguishing between aggressive and less harmful types of cancer, instead routinely treating all.

The authors, said: "The benefit of mammographic screening in terms of lives saved is greater in absolute terms than the harm in terms of over diagnosis. Between 2 and 2.5 lives are saved for every over diagnosed case."The full article can be found here

Walnuts revealed as superfood for fighting breast cancer
Researches from Marshall University School of Medicine have revealed that a diet rich in walnuts can significantly reduce the risk of breast cancer. A study was carried out on mice that were given the cancer virus. Some mice were then fed a walnut rich diet while others were not. The mice that included walnuts in their diet had less breast cancers and indeed in the few that did appear it did not develop until later in life and the tumours were much smaller.

The findings have been attributed to the omega 3 content, phytosterol and mono-unsaturated fats present in walnuts. To read the full article, pick up the new spring issue of Icon magazine when next at the Cancerkin centre. The magazine is full of interesting articles revolving around beating cancer.

LaurenNewton 31st March 2010
l.newton@cancerkin.org.uk