On the pulse

Cancerkin's News Update.....



Cancerkin theatre tickets on sale now…


Tickets are now on sale for Cancerkin’s special evening at the theatre on 31st October 2011. Cancerkin will host a performance of new play ‘The Last of The Duchess’ at the Hampstead Theatre in honour of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The play focuses on the final days of the controversial Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Simpson, spent in her household in Versailles, and features Sheila Hancock and Anna Chancellor. We hope you will join us for an unforgettable evening!


There are two ways that you can buy tickets at £40 each: you can call Laura on 020 7830 2323, or you can complete a ticket form, which you will shortly receive in the post or that can be downloaded from our website. Seats are limited so book early to avoid disappointment!


If you are interested in helping with the event, we are currently in need of volunteers to stuff envelopes. Please contact Laura on 0207 830 2323 orl.smith@cancerkin.org.uk. Tea and biscuits will be provided!



Thank you, Waitrose!

Cancerkin was selected as one of three charities to take part in the Waitrose ‘Community Matters’ giving initiative at their John Barnes Store on Finchley Road throughout June. Using tokens provided at the till, shoppers decided how much of a £1,000 total was given to each charity, which were nominated by their own customers. Thank you to the wonderful Dee Grandison for putting us forward! The shoppers have spoken and a grand total of £548 was raised for Cancerkin – thank you, Waitrose, for your generosity.



Hyde Park Walk sponsorship…


Just a reminder that the deadline for sponsorship monies to be received by the Cancerkin office is Monday 15th August. Please remember to make all cheques payable to Cancerkin and avoid sending cash in the post. Please contact Laura on l.smith@cancerkin.org.uk if you have any queries.



Internships at Cancerkin…


We are still taking applications for the East London Project Internship and the Events, Fundraising and Promotions Internship. If you are interested in applying, please send a covering letter and up-to-date CV to either Laura Smith for the Events, Fundraising and Promotions Internship, at l.smith@cancerkin.org.uk, or to Asini for the East London Project Internship ata.wijewardane@cancerkin.org.uk. For more details, please visit our website. The deadline for applications is Monday 15th August 2011.



In the News.....



Research into the impact of breast cancer screening...


Currently in the UK, every woman aged 50 to 70 is invited to have a mammogram every three years, in line with the NHS’s cancer screening programme. Women over 70 can currently request screenings every three years and the programme is in the process of being extended to include those aged 47 to 73. The Department of Health estimates that around 13,500 of the 48,000 cases of breast cancer diagnosed in the UK each year are picked up by the screening programme and it is said that it saves around 1,400 lives a year. Breast cancer mortality rates have decreased in recent decades, but new research conducted by a group of international cancer experts has suggested that breast cancer screening has had little impact on this.


Using data from The World Health Organisation, a group of scientists from France, the UK and Norway compared the decreasing death rates of three pairs of countries, with the first country in each pair having introduced breast screening ten to fifteen years before the second. Northern Ireland was compared with the Republic of Ireland, Sweden with Norway, and the Netherlands with Belgium and Flanders. They found that from 1989 to 2006 death rates decreased by 29 percent in Northern Ireland compared with 26 percent in the Irish Republic. They decreased by 16 percent in Sweden compared with 24 percent in Norway and by 25 percent in the Netherlands in comparison with 25 percent in Flanders. As a result, researchers have come to the conclusion that screening has not played a direct part in reducing breast cancer mortality rates and can more likely be explained by the development of better treatments and improving health systems in recent years.


In response to the study, Professor Julietta Patnick CBE, director of the NHS Cancer Screening Programmes, said: "The best evidence available shows that women aged 50 to 69 who are regularly screened are less likely to die from breast cancer. The World Health Organisation's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) estimates that there is a 35 per cent reduction in mortality from breast cancer among screened women aged 50 to 69." Rachel Rawson, from the charity Breast Cancer Care, added: "We would encourage women to consider attending routine screening."


Please click to read coverage of the study in The Independent and The Telegraph.


Laura Smith