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

On the pulse

Cancerkin’s News….
Cancerkin steps up the fundraising…
With only 2 weeks to go before our Hyde Park Walk, we are still accepting any last minute entries for the event on Sunday 13th June 2010. If you would like to enter or require any more details please contact l.newton@cancerkin.org.uk . For those of you who have entered you should have all received your t-shirts by now, so all that is left to do is to start collecting your sponsorship! GOOD LUCK!

Keep an eye on your post boxes this week for information on our Opera fundraising evening; an innovative and witty production of Puccini’s La Boheme at the Soho Theatre London on Saturday 31st July 2010. If you have any ideas for future fundraising initiatives or would like some help or information in organising one of your own please feel free to contact us at the office.

In the News…
Screening process for young women with breast cancer needs overhaul…
Breast cancer is the most common cause of death in women aged 35 to 54 and the statistics are rising, with a quarter of the 46,000 new cases of cancer diagnosed before the menopause. Awareness of the risk of cancer is low among these women as many have previously been advised that they are ‘too young to get breast cancer’. Indeed they are considered by some, ‘too young’ for free screening. NHS breast screening is only routinely available to women between the ages of 50 and 70. However, if you are below this age and have a lump and have been referred by your GP you can be screened by the NHS. Those outside this upper age bracket, who want to be safe rather than sorry must pay for it privately, or receive it as part of a corporate screening programme.

There is evidence that breast cancer detected via screening rather than symptoms, has significantly better survival rates, as it means the disease can be tackled at an early stage. Dr Nick Perry, an NHS Consultant, strongly believes that women under 50 deserve as much right to early detection via screening as older women. Dr Perry’s reports in the Daily Mail that 40% of the patients in his specific clinic are being diagnosed under 50. He continues saying: ‘It's harrowing dealing with these women - many with young children - because, with screening, some of these cases could have been picked up earlier, the women treated successfully and their lives saved. One could argue that it is all the more important for younger women to be screened, as they have a higher proportion of aggressive cancers and, therefore, most to gain from early detection.’

Research shows that women between the ages of 35-49 make up 40% of all years of life lost to breast cancer. In the U.S., where annual breast screening is available to those 40+, results show that 95% of women survive at least 5 years following diagnosis, compared to the UK’s 78.5 %. To offer national breast screening to all those at 40+ would of course have considerable financial and logistical implications. The current economic climate has left the government and the health sector with large budgetary limitations, for all the research, equipment, staff and training that would be involved in the programme redesign. Women under 50 have denser breast tissue, making small cancers harder to find using traditional mammograms, so digital mammography would be required; better at detecting cancer in dense breast tissue but also more expensive.

However, the good news is that as part of the national programme, some Primary Care Trusts around the country have recently announced that they will begin screening from the age of 47. Like such Primary Care Trusts, we at Cancerkin are also looking to serve this emergent group of young cancer suffering women. Over the next couple of weeks, we are looking to establish a Young Women’s Support Group, designed to tackle the issues that may specifically affect young cancer sufferers such as fertility, sexuality, work etc. The proceeds from our up and coming Opera fundraising evening will go towards establishing this group for the long term. If you are interested in the group please email L.newton@cancerkin.org.uk . Read all of Dr Perry’s above article here.

Breast reconstruction support…
BRA is a new Breast Reconstruction Awareness group, set up to bring women who have had mastectomies together, to exchange advice and support on issues surrounding reconstruction. reconstruction. The BRA Group: From left Jane Borland, Rhoda Reeds, Ann Gill, Pam Davis and Cat Johnson Photo: JOHN LAWRENCE The group, the brainchild of Kettering General Hospital plastic surgeon Thangasamy Sankar, founder of the group explains that while national charities such as Breast Cancer Care have post-mastectomy support groups run by medical staff, "this group is different because it's run by patients for patients. Breast reconstruction is not a life-saving operation, it's one to improve a woman's quality of life. A woman needs clear information to make a decision. And however much I describe it, I'm only a clinician. I can't tell women what it feels like." While initial treatments for breast cancer are high-profile, there is much less advice and support about

The women talk frankly about their personal experiences and feelings. Rhoda Rees, a 49-year-old receptionist and mother of two who says a mastectomy "puts a lot of people off sex. You don't feel feminine. It doesn't matter how often your partner reassures you – it's how you feel in your head. You can end up feeling totally worthless." Cat Johnson the group’s secretary and IT expert echoes Rees saying "Friends can be incredibly crass. They'd say things like 'it's only a boob, you don't need it, why not get both cut off?'" Although all the women admit the procedure to be ‘painful’, some even stating it to be worse then cancer, they all share the elation they felt when they saw the results: Rhoda Rees said "Of course it looked like a patchwork quilt with the bruising and stitches, but I felt like a woman again.", a sentiment Ann Gill shares "all you want to do is feel complete… this isn't about vanity: it's about feeling normal."

There are three different types of breast reconstruction available, all with different implications which the article talks through in depth. Read the BRA women’s stories in full here.

Genetics…
After witnessing the death of her mother and older sister to breast cancer, along with 8 other close female relatives, 47 year old Shirley McQueen , has made the radical decision to have both her breasts removed. McQueen has been advised by a genetic oncologist, Dr James Mackay that due to the large number of relatives with the disease and that all cases proved fatal, it could well be possible that Shirley’s family possess a particularly aggressive cancer gene. McQueen herself stating: "From an early age I have accepted that I am going to die, and I have prepared my son and daughter for that," says McQueen.

Jane O'Brien of the General Medical Council, recognises that "Genetics is becoming more of an issue for patients.” However, the many difficult practical and ethical issues that emerge for doctors in the genetics debate often goes unrecognised. For instance should doctors always pass on the news to children, siblings, grandchildren, that there is a risk, possibly a high risk of suffering from the same disease as other blood relatives have suffered?
Read the full article on genetics here. If you have any questions regarding genetics and your condition please speak to your consultant.