On the pulse

Cancerkin’s News….
Breast Cancer Awareness Month at Cancerkin…
On Friday, we rounded off a highly successful week of events for Breast Cancer Awareness Month with a talk by Mr Tim Davidson ChM, MRCP, FRCS on ‘the current state of breast cancer treatment’. Mr Davidson discussed the treatments available for breast cancer patients, focusing in particular on the development of surgical treatment options, and explained the process by which the appropriate treatment is chosen. His very informative talk was followed by questions from the audience, giving many of our patients the opportunity to find out more about treatment. We would like to thank Mr Davidson for lending his time and expertise to Cancerkin.

Next session in East London...
As part of our ongoing East London Programme, we are holding our fourth complementary therapy session at St. Joseph’s Hospice in Hackney on Monday 25th October, offering over 30 women from all over East London an opportunity to try out a range of therapies. This session will include Art Therapy, Massage, Soul Therapy, Reflexology, Reiki and Tai Chi, and our President, Mr Santilal Parbhoo, will give a Breast Cancer Information talk to the group.

In the News…
Rebirth of Venus...
In September, we reported on a new project designed to raise breast cancer awareness - the innovative “Everyone is Art” campaign. As part of the Samsung More Than Talk Breast Health Awareness campaign, people affected by breast cancer were invited to upload photos, from which 1,096 were selected by British artist Samira Harris and used in her giant recreation of Botticelli’s ‘Birth of Venus’. A particularly poignant number, 1096 represents the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer in Europe each day.












Through using an interactive internet campaign, the project has been able to involve a wide cross-section of people and the finished piece features the faces of men and women, young and old, highlighting the fact that breast cancer affects people of all ages and genders. On the Pulse has previously reported that an increasing number of young women are being diagnosed with the breast cancer and, as reported in The Telegraph this week, around 300 men are diagnosed with the disease in the UK every year. Speaking in the newspaper, Henry Conway, a socialite whose photo appears in the work, said that he decided to contribute his image as he wanted to help raise awareness by changing the perception of breast cancer as a disease only affecting middle-aged women.

Measuring 6ft by 5ft, the artwork will now be auctioned to raise money for breast cancer awareness and 20 of the chosen images will be displayed on the big screen at Piccadilly Circus this month. Look out for them there! To read more about the campaign, click here or visit http://www.morethantalk.eu/.

Early onset of puberty has implications for breast cancer risk…
An article published this week in The Guardian has thrown light on an increasing trend of early puberty in children of primary school age. Peter Hindmarsh, professor of paediatric endocrinology at Great Ormond St Hospital in London, stated that conclusive evidence shows puberty is arriving earlier and earlier in girls, with those as young as eight or nine starting to develop breasts and have periods. “Between 1958 and 2005 breast development – the sign that puberty is starting in girls – moved about nine months ahead of where it used to be” he explained. The average age for the onset of puberty in girls is now 10.75 years. In light of this trend, an increasing amount of research demonstrates that girls who reach puberty at a young age are more likely to develop breast cancer in adulthood, meaning more and more young girls are potentially at a higher risk of developing the disease.

The early arrival of puberty is predominantly linked to increased body weight, a pertinent issue in a society struggling with childhood obesity. When a child’s body reaches a certain size at an earlier age than expected, hormone changes are triggered, instigating the onset of puberty. Other research has suggested possible links between early puberty and weak maternal bonding, an absent father, the presence of an unrelated father figure and exposure to artificial light and television screens, and between later puberty and having older brothers. “The age of sexual maturation is highly adaptable,” explained Mr Hindmarsh. “The drive to continue the species is so strong that we have evolved a system that is extremely sensitive to change.”

Unfortunately, early puberty has serious physical and psychological implications for young girls. Besides social problems at school and issues with body-image and self-esteem, research suggests it may increase the risk of ovarian cancer and heart disease, as well as breast cancer, later on in life. To read about this worrying trend in more detail, please click here.

“Breast Healthy” lifestyle can help women with family history of breast cancer...
It has long been acknowledged that a healthy lifestyle can help to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer. A recent study into the impact healthy living can have on this risk, published on the online journal Breast Cancer Research, has brought good news to women with a family history of breast cancer, who are often at a higher risk of developing the disease. Results suggest that “breast healthy” behaviour – regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight and limiting alcohol intake - can benefit those with a familial predisposition to the disease.

By observing the lifestyle habits of 85,000 postmenopausal women between the ages of 50 and 79, the study discovered that, in women who had at least one close relative with a breast cancer diagnosis after the age of 45 and who practised “breast healthy” behaviour, rates of breast cancer were reduced. Among those who exercised for 20 minutes five times a week, maintained a healthy body weight and who drank no more than one alcoholic drink a day, the rate of invasive breast cancer was 5.94 per 1,000 woman-years. Among those with the same family history but who did not follow the three healthy steps, the rate was significantly higher, at 6.79 per 1,000 woman-years.

Dr Gramling, who led the study at the University of Rochester Medical Centre, said: "Untangling the degree to which genes, environments, and behaviors contribute to the disease is difficult. But our study shows that engaging in a healthy lifestyle can help women, even when familial predisposition is involved." If you would like to read more about the study, please click here.

Laura Smith 21st October 2010
l.smith@cancerkin.org.uk