On the pulse

Cancerkin’s news…

Holiday villa auction now live on eBay!

Yesterday, we launched our second ever eBay auction in which we are selling off a fabulous week long holiday in a Portuguese villa. The use of the villa has been generously donated by one of our supporters and all proceeds from the auction will go to Cancerkin.

Located near Porto in the North of Portugal, the stunning villa sleeps up to 10 and has its own swimming pool, outdoor seating and dining area and lots of outdoor space. If you have not yet booked your family summer holiday, this is a perfect opportunity to secure a stay in a fabulous location and to support Cancerkin at the same time. If you are not bidding yourself, please help us spread the word and tell everyone you know about the auction!

Bids will be taken until 8pm on Sunday 22nd May 2011. Click here to find out more and to place your bid. Good luck!

Important Hyde Park Walk news...

Due to the high levels of interest shown in our biggest event of the year, we have extended the closing date for entries for the Hyde Park Walk on 19th June. If you have not yet registered for the walk, there is still plenty of time to do so – we will be taking entries right up to the day. To download an entry form, please visit our website.

We are currently recruiting volunteers to our team of marshals for the big day. The team will have the important job of directing our walkers around the course and making sure everything runs smoothly. If you are interested in getting involved, I would love to hear from you – please email l.smith@cancerkin.org.uk.

To all registered walker: Last week, we recommended that you set up a sponsorship page on the Just Giving website.. This week, our top tip to boost your fundraising is to ask your sponsors to Gift Aid it – this means we get an extra £28 for every £100 you raise. As long as your sponsors are UK tax payers and tell us their full name and full home address, we can claim back the tax they have already paid on their sponsorship from the Inland Revenue. We will not use your sponsors names and addresses for anything other than Gift Aid.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at anytime on l.smith@cancerkin.org.uk.

In the News.....

Healthy lifestyle 'could prevent half of breast cancer cases'

The benefits of maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle have been well researched and documented, and a recent report generated by the World Cancer Research Fund has found that about 20 000 cases of breast cancer in the UK could be prevented each year by increasing physical activity, reducing alcohol consumption and maintaining a healthy weight. The figures suggested that of the 47 600 women that developed breast cancer in 2008, 42 percent of these cases (approximately 20 000) would be preventable if women developed healthier lifestyles.

Dr Rachel Thompson, Deputy Head of Science at the World Cancer Research Fund, reported on the figures, which she believes show “that we have a long way to go to raise awareness about what women can do to prevent breast cancer”, estimating that “about a third of the most common cancers could be prevented through a healthy diet, being physically active and maintaining a healthy weight”.

Whilst these findings don’t take into account genetic and environmental factors that can also play a part in the development of breast cancer, they show the potential benefit a healthy lifestyle can have in minimising the risk of developing breast cancer. The World Cancer Research Fund have listed recommendations for cancer prevention, some of which include being physically active for at least 30 minutes a day, being as lean as possible (without becoming underweight), limiting consumption of fatty, salty and sugary food and drink and eating fruit, vegetables and pulses. They also recommend eating less red meat and processed meat and if not abstaining from alcohol altogether, limiting alcoholic drinks to two a day for men and one a day for women and choosing a balanced diet rather than vitamin supplements.

To read further information, please click here and to read the World Cancer Research Fund’s press release click here.

Aromatase inhibitors could reduce mastectomy rates

Aromatase inhibitors are oestrogen lowering drugs that halt the supply of the female hormone oestrogen which fuels most breast cancers. The drugs only work in post-menopausal women where the oestrogen hormone is produced using the aromatase enzyme rather the ovaries.

A study led by Dr Matthew Ellis from Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis randomly assigned one of three approved aromatase inhibitors to 352 women with stage two to three breast cancer. From this group, 159 women had been told that they required a mastectomy but after 16 weeks of treatment, 81 were able to have breast conserving surgery instead. Furthermore, another 189 women were originally considered “marginal” for breast conservation due to the high likelihood of disfigurement. However, 83% saw enough tumour shrinkage to avoid a mastectomy.

Dr Ellis stressed that not all women respond well to aromatase inhibitors, he said “the biggest question in my mind is how best to treat the aromatase inhibitor-resistant patients. These patients have poor outcomes and currently there is no known targeted therapy for them.”

The above findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on 9th May 2011. To read the original article from The Telegraph, please click here.

The Cancerkin Team