On the pulse


Cancerkin's News Update.....

Our On the pulse scribe, Laura Smith, is on a well earned holiday in the sun so you have me this week. It does give me the opportunity to thank all those who help us make Cancerkin such a success. I am lucky to have the most dedicated staff to support me and all the patients that come through the door. I also want to say a very big thank you to Cancerkin’s Trustees. They are an exceptional group, each bringing a unique skill to the Charity and supporting me in every way. It was very hard to say good bye to Sally Malin who left the Board last week. Fortunately she will be ‘migrating’ to Chiswick so we will soon be neighbours. At the same time another Chiswickian has joined the Board, Jenny Oppenheimer from the Pilgrim Trust. She brings with her a wealth of knowledge about trusts and foundations and an in depth knowledge of the Third Sector. An enormous thank you also to the Lymphoedema volunteers who manage the ever expanding Lymphoedema Clinic. They are an extremely hard working group of women who manage all the patients’ visits, ordering of supplies and general admin for the clinic. And finally, a big thank you to our Experienced Patients who offer a caring hand and listening ear to all our patients living with breast cancer. A truly amazing team and I feel so lucky to be able to work for Cancerkin.

Cancerkin’s East London Project

Project Manager Asini Wijewardane is off working in the Bromley by Bow Health Centre today taking with her a number of our therapists who will offer free massages, reflexology and dance therapy sessions for the day. We now have regular sessions there and at St Joseph’s Hospice so that we can extend to women in East London what has been offered in North London for 24 years.

Hyde Park Walk sponsorship…

Thanks to all those loyal supporters who are forwarding us their sponsorship money for the Hyde Park Walk on 19th June. Whilst we were warned not to raise our hopes this year I have to say that I am overjoyed at the amounts that are coming in. You are all doing so well and we are so touched by all your efforts to support us. There is still time to make the Monday 15th August deadline so don’t despair. You may be one of the top three fundraisers to receive one of the stunning Floris prizes. Please remember to make all cheques payable to Cancerkin and avoid sending cash in the post. Please contact l.smith@cancerkin.org.uk if you have any queries about sponsorship.

Therapies

As most of you know, since I started working here I have enjoyed introducing new therapies thus giving our patients a taste of something different each term. This has meant increasing the number of therapies on offer and ensuring that we are open 9-5.30 five days a week. I am hoping to bring in a drama therapist this autumn and we are also investigating employing a flower essence therapist. These new classes will be piloted in September and introduced in October if there is a demand from our patients.

Please note that Pilates is taking a break over the summer. Classes will recommence on Thursday 8th September 2011 at 1.30pm.

Now over to Una and Asini for our latest snippets from the news desk.

In the News.....

Gene dilemma to prevent next generation cancer

New genetic treatments may be able to help couples ensure their baby will not inherit family diseases. Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) - a technique which screens IVF embryos for genetic disorders and transfers any free of the faulty gene into the mother's womb – has been offered on the NHS for more than a decade for serious diseases that come early in childhood, like cystic fibrosis or Tay Sachs.

However the ethics of extending the use of this technique is debatable, with the first child free of the breast cancer gene by PGD born only in 2009. Professor Michael Baum, a leading researcher in breast cancer, is doubtful whether PGD should be used for inherited breast cancer. He explains a phenomenon in genetics and cellular development called co-expression where two genes could be stuck together – so the mutant gene (i.e. the BRAC1 and BRAC2 mutation) might be co-expressed with favourable components (e.g. complex genes of beauty or intelligence). Therefore he believes by selecting out the embryos of these mutations, there is a risk of selecting out ‘some of the best people in our society’.

To read more, click here.

Fad foods and breast cancer – how to read the headlines

There are many articles out there that focus on the links between food and cancer, with headlines often promoting the cancer-fighting benefits of certain foods. Very often though, it can be difficult to decipher whether the headlines are indeed fact or fiction. A recent article on website ‘Koman for the Cure’ helps to give greater insight into how to ‘read between the lines’ when it comes to articles about foods and breast cancer.

When reading about possible links between diet and cancer, it can be helpful to look at whether the results come from studies of cells, animals or people. Whilst findings from cell studies may be interesting, they indicate a very early step in the research process, and may not necessarily translate to human health. Similarly, whilst animal studies can add to our understanding of how and why some factors may affect breast cancer risk in people, there are many differences between animals and people, and so human studies are needed before deciding whether certain foods are actually linked to the prevention, treatment or risk of breast cancer in people.

Another interesting factor to look out for when reading articles about food and breast cancer is the number of people used in a study. The more people used in a study, the more information or evidence it gives us, as results from a small study can sometimes be due to chance rather than a true effect. Important to also consider is how many other studies have been done on the same topic with similar outcomes as this can help us to have more confidence in the results. In other words, the more human studies is with large numbers and with similar findings there are, the more we can trust whether a food is linked (or not linked) to breast cancer. So next time you read about the link between a certain food and breast cancer, investigate whether the study was done with people, whether it was a large study and supported by other research – armed with this knowledge you will be better able to ‘read between the lines’ and properly interpret the headlines.

To read more, click here.

Victoria Todd

8th July 2011