On the pulse

In the news…


Breast cancer risk rises to 1 in 8…

Figures published today by Cancer Research UK show that the lifetime risk of developing breast cancer in the UK has risen from 1 woman in 9 to 1 in 8 over the last decade. Breast cancer rates have increased by 3.5 percent in 10 years with 47,700 women diagnosed in 2008 compared with 42,400 in 1999. In the same period, the biggest increase in diagnosis rates was among women aged 50 to 69 with a rise in cases of 6 percent. Around half of all cases diagnosed were in women within this age category, around 33 percent were in women over 70 and around 19 percent aged 25 to 49. However, survival rates have also risen with two in every three women with breast cancer surviving beyond 20 years and three quarters surviving at least 10 years.

In its article, Cancer Research UK reiterated the commonly known factors that can affect breast cancer risk: lifestyle factors such as diet, alcohol intake and smoking; a woman’s family history of the disease; the number of children a woman has at what stage in her life she has them; the long term use of hormone replacement therapy. In light of the results, Sara Hiom, Cancer Research UK’s director of health information, said: “Women cannot change their genes but small changes in everyday habits can help to reduce cancer risk. Cutting back on alcohol by keeping within government recommended limits of no more than 14 units a week (a small drink a day) helps. Taking more exercise and eating a diet high in fibre but low in saturated fat can help maintain a healthy weight – which in turn reduces breast cancer risk.”

To read more, please click here.


Cancer care debate…

Last week The Guardian printed the fascinating results of a recent roundtable of cancer experts, including Cancerkin’s upcoming guest speaker Professor Sir Mike Richards CBE. Discussion surrounded the coalition government’s plans to restructure the NHS and the implications for its new cancer strategy aimed to improve cancer survival rates in the UK.

In line with the NHS reforms, the government plans to replace current primary care trusts (PCTs) with local GP consortiums. The discussion group therefore asked whether a restructuring of the NHS would provide the catalyst to improve cancer care or would actually serve to undo the significant progress made by the NHS in terms of survival rates in recent years. The central issue agreed by the group was that cancer is not being diagnosed quickly enough, making effective treatment more difficult. To rectify this and therefore improve survival rates, patients need to see their GPs more quickly, GPs should more readily refer any patient they have concerns about to a specialist and should be trained to use portable ultrasound. This would require changes in current medical practice, which many felt will be addressed by the introduction of GP consortiums.

On one hand, consortiums were said to be closer to patients than PCTs and to have intimate knowledge of the workings of hospital services, and so it was suggested they were well placed to impact upon cancer survival rates, particularly to improve one-year survival rates – a key performance measure of the government’s cancer strategy. On the other hand, there were fears that breaking up PCTs would lead to a lack of co-ordination and integration of services. Particular concerns were expressed over the future of the UK’s 28 cancer networks and clinical nurse specialists as a result of the changes, considered by the group as ‘the linchpins of a successful cancer strategy’.

The issue of funding and staffing was of course at the forefront of discussion, with the question asked: can the NHS afford the associated costs of restructuring when it is currently making such drastic cuts? It was argued that forming a more efficient system would actually save money, with more streamlined services such as a two-week limit for screening result, better information on where money is spent, on outcomes and patterns of referrals and on survival rates, and the speed at which such information is made available all allowing the NHS to cut costs.

The question of medication was also raised. As cancer drugs are becoming more sophisticated and a new generation of drugs will soon become available, patients will require more testing to establish which medication is right for them. Additional training and staff will increase costs and hospitals are expected to fight over which become testing centres. The creation of GP consortiums will also see the transfer of control over drugs and therapy funding from the centralised National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), possibly leading to a new form of postcode lottery. Here, it was stressed that despite a move towards localisation, a clear national vision of cancer care must be maintained.

To read the debate in full, please click here.


Cancerkin’s news…

Goodbye Henry!

Henry Ezenwa, Cancerkin’s finance and IT intern, will be leaving the Cancerkin team at the end of this week after joining us in October. He is going on to study for his accountancy qualifications but will be back supporting Cancerkin’s efforts in the future. We thank him for all his hard work and dedication and wish him the best of luck for his exams later in the year!


Spiritual healing at Cancerkin…

As we announced in January, Cancerkin is delighted to be offering a six week trial of one-to-one spiritual healing sessions with therapist Harry Luck, beginning this month. Spiritual Healing is a natural energy therapy. It complements conventional medicine by treating the person – mind, body and spirit. Spiritual Healers act as a conduit for healing energy, which relaxes the body, releases tensions, and stimulates self-healing. The benefits of healing can be felt on many levels, not just physical, and the effects can be profound.

Harry has been offering Spiritual Healing to the public for almost 15 years and is a full member of The National Federation of Spiritual Healers. He gave healing for 10 years to cancer patients at Chai Cancer Care and for the past year has been working with clients at home, many with cancer, and also visiting those who were or are housebound.

Sessions will be individual 45 minute appointments between 2pm and 5pm every Wednesday for six weeks from 16th February 2011. If you are interested in booking an appointment, please contact Habeeb at h.ahmed@cancerkin.org.uk or 0207 830 2323.



Laura Smith 4th February 2011