On the pulse

Cancerkin news…
Pilates event…
Next Tuesday, the 12th October, Cancerkin patient and qualified Pilates teacher of 18 years, Alison Swan is running a Charity Pilates day between 10am-5pm at the Royal Free Hospital Recreation Club. Aiming to raise awareness of breast cancer during Breast Cancer Awareness Month and to celebrate the first anniversary since her diagnosis, Alison will be aiming to teach as many people in one day as she can. Group classes will begin on the hour, every hour with several teachers from the Pilates Foundation on hand to help & provide a few private sessions to anyone who may like one. A masseuse will be available to provide all participants with luxury massages after their gentle exercise. All abilities, ages and sexes are welcome and there is no specific cost for the sessions, however we will be asking for donation to be given towards the Cancerkin Centre which helped Alison and hundreds of women like her come to terms with their diagnosis and treatment with positivity and courage.

If you would like to attend one of the group classes please just turn up at the Royal Free Recreation Club on Fleet Road or to book a session please email Alison at info@pilatesmatwork.co.uk.

Cancerkin’s new recruits…
After advertising the return of our internship programme a few weeks ago, three new interns have been selected and begun their programme with us this week. Henry Ezenwa will be working with Habeeb on Finance, IT and Office Management, Sumaiya Farooq will be assisting Asini on the East London Outreach Programme and Laura Smith is training in Events and Fundraising. The new recruits will be in the office all day, every day and will be very happy to help you in any way they can.

East London update….
As you know, as part of Cancerkin’s East London programme, we have started running monthly free complementary therapy sessions in East London. Last week, we held our third session at St Joseph’s Hospice in Hackney and it was our most successful session to date. Nearly 40 women from all over East London benefited from a range of one to one and group therapies, including reflexology, massage, reiki, soul therapy and even dance therapy! The feedback we received from the patients was fantastic , with all saying how much they benefitted from receiving our treatments.

Cancerkin has not worked alone in its East London outreach and we would like to thank the Newham, Homerton, St Bartholomew and Whipps Cross hospitals and our local partner organisations for all their support in making this session a success. Cancerkin also wants to especially thank all the staff at St Joseph’s Hospice for all their support and assistance in ensuring the smooth running and success of the sessions.

Next week’s Breast Awareness Month events…
Next week Dr Alison Jones and Mr Tim Davidson will be giving talks about issues surrounding breast cancer in the board room of the Cancerkin Centre. The talks will place at the following times:

Dr Alison Jones MD FRCP : Wednesday 13th October 4pm
‘Advances in drug treatment’
(Please arrive at 3.30pm for tea and cakes)

Mr Tim Davidson ChM MRCP FRCS: Friday 15th October 11am
‘Current state of breast cancer treatment’
(Please arrive at 10.30am for coffee and croissants)

If you would like to attend either or both of these talks please email info@cancerkin.org.uk or call 0207 830 2323 to register your name.

On Wednesday 13th October, the same day as Dr Alison Jones’ talk, we will also be holding our annual breast cancer awareness sale. The stall will be positioned next to the Atrium by the main entrance to the hospital and will be open from 10am-4pm with a variety of products on sale, including many books on cancer, nutrition, positive thinking etc. We would be grateful for your support, so please do come in early before Dr Jones’ talk and pop along and see us.

In the news…
Reducing the risk of breast cancer…
In light of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, The Telegraph published an article last week, breaking down the myths and theories about breast cancer – separating them from the core facts and realities. The fad theories that were dispelled included: coffee, stress, food additives, antiperspirants, underwired bras, pesticides and abortions – none of which are evidenced to give you cancer. Conversely, some of the big risks to avoid were nicotine, sustained long-term use of the contraceptive pill and HRT – all of which have a proven association with the risk of breast cancer development.

This list is not unique and all too often the media is flooded with the new ‘threat’ of breast cancer, so it was nice to see the article noting the positive things we can do to improve our chances of avoiding a diagnosis. Such examples included: breastfeeding and having children before the age of 35, cutting down on alcohol, taking regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight and eating less fat. Aside from looking after yourself and perhaps avoiding some of the risks mentioned above, women all over should be regularly checking their breasts to look out for any unusual changes. Read the article in full, including other risks here.

Painless laser device could spot early signs of breast cancer…
A portable device using painless laser beams could be used within the next 5 years as a new non-invasive way to diagnosis breast cancer. This development would not only change the face of a typical mammography but also make the breast cancer diagnosis process faster, cheaper and more accurate.

In a sick person, unhealthy tissue has a very different chemical mix to normal healthy tissue. As a result, the laser will be able to recognise the abnormal composition of diseased tissue when placed on the skin’s surface. This technique could therefore allow doctors to spot the early signs of breast cancer in a painless and non-invasive manner, enabling them to quickly detect abnormalities and to decide if a tumour is benign or malignant. Only patients with malignant tumours would then be sent for biopsy, saving over 80,000 patients from having secondary procedures in the UK alone.
If you would like to read more about the development of this method, click here.

A novel way to raise breast awareness…
It has been revealed that the appearance of cryptic status updates on social networking site Facebook, is in fact the latest attempt to raise the profile of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Across the nation, women have been secretly invited by their female Facebook friends to post on their profile where it is they like to leave their handbag. As a result status’ have started to appear saying things like: ‘I like it on the floor’, ‘the stairs’ or even ‘the kitchen table’. These suggestive updates have been raising eyebrows across the web, with male user clueless as to their real meaning.

This year’s viral campaign, passed on from user to user by private message, follows the success of a previous series of updates whereby women simply posted a colour as their status. In this instance the colour written in the individual’s status referred to the colour of her bra that day. A novel, fun and somewhat risqué way to provoke discussion about breast cancer during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the campaign has achieved its aim and got people talking about breast cancer and its risks. Moreover, in using Facebook, arguably the leader in the recent social network phenomenon, the campaign is engaging with younger women and teenage girls – a group we have covered several times in recent On the pulse’s as becoming more and more vulnerable to a breast cancer diagnosis. Why not show your support of this campaign and change your Facebook status!
To read more about this innovative approach to breast awareness please click here.

Lauren Newton 8th October 2010

l.newton@cancerkin.org.uk