On the pulse - 14th October 2011

On the pulse

Cancerkin's News Update.....


Breast cancer awareness month at Cancerkin...


Cancerkin has been busy helping to promote and celebrate the message of breast awareness this October.

Last Friday, our East London Project Team was at the Bromley-By-Bow Community Centre to hold a breast awareness stall alongside its monthly complementary session for women with breast cancer. They handed out information and answered questions on being breast aware along with free pink iced cupcakes!

On Wednesday, we held our annual breast awareness stall at the Royal Free Hospital where the brand new edition of our ‘Being Breast Aware: a step-by-step guide to breast awareness’ booklet made its debut. The Cancerkin Team handed out the free publication and gave information to members of the public, patients and hospital staff. Alongside this, there were lots of lovely gifts, books and cakes on sale to raise funds for Cancerkin. We raised a record amount of £1376.

Thank you so much to all those who came along to support us and to those who volunteered their time and gave donations for the stall. We would especially like to thank Heidi Cleveley who donated some fantastic gifts, including tea sets, jewellery boxes and natural soaps. Thank you, Heidi!

As always, we so are grateful to those who support Cancerkin through their own fundraising drives and initiatives. If you would like to organise your own event in honour of Cancerkin during October, here are a few ideas: you could hold a cake sale at work; you could have a car boot sale at the weekend; or you could donate the proceeds of your eBay auction to Cancerkin. If you know of a local business or store that might like to hold a collection can or to plan a fundraiser for Cancerkin, then do get in touch. For more information, please contact Laura on l.smith@cancerkin.org.uk or 0207 830 2323.


Patient support group – change to schedule...

There has been a change to the schedule of our upcoming patient support group on Tuesday 25th October 2011. Unfortuantely, the talk due to be given by Dietician Katie Walker is being rescheduled to a later date. The October group will now proceed as follows: there will be general group discussion with tea and biscuits from 11am to 12pm, followed by a talk from our experienced patients Judy and Janet from 12pm to 1pm. For more information, please contact Una on u.reynolds@cancerkin.org.uk or 0207 830 2323.


Creative Writing Workshop in November...

Lily Seibold will be holding another creative writing workshop on Monday 7th November 2011 from 10am to 3pm. The topic of this session is ‘small is beautiful’. Please contact Una on u.reynolds@cancerkin.org.uk or 0207 830 2323 to reserve your place.


In the News.....


Preventative drugs for high risk women...

Recently On the Pulse reported on current research into the use of existing cancer drugs as preventative treatments for those with a high risk of developing breast cancer. In a Cancer Research UK-funded trial into over 6,000 high risk postmenopausal women with a family history of the disease, researchers are working to find out if the drug anastrozole may help to prevent breast cancer. An interesting article on the topic published this week in The Telegraph looks at the history and the relative risks and benefits of the use of ‘chemoprevention’ treatments. The article asks: if those at risk of heart disease are commonly prescribed drugs like statins to lower their risk, is it possible to take the same approach with cancer?

The risk-lowering potential of breast cancer drugs was first noted in the 1990s when researchers found that women receiving tamoxifen to treat tumours in one breast were less likely to develop them in the other. A 1998 American study also found that in women who had never actually had the disease but who had a family history of breast cancer, risk was cut by almost half when they were prescribed tamoxifen. As a result, the drug was approved for use to prevent breast cancer in the US in the same year. Another trial looked at 19,000 postmenopausal women who were prescribed the drug raloxifene and found it halved the incidence of breast cancer. It was subsequently also licensed for breast cancer prevention.

However, despite the promising results, neither drug has been widely used in this capacity, as both carry a small risk of life-threatening blood clots and other serious side-effects. Two other breast cancer drugs, anastrozole and exemestane, have undergone more recent trials and seem to have fewer serious risks. Side effects such as hot flushes still persist and it is thought that they could lead to a weakening of the bones if taken long-term. Belonging to a group of drugs called aromatase inhibitors, they are also only suitable for use in postmenopausal women

Chemoprevention is faced with a number of difficult issues. The possible risks pose a dilemma: do the potential risk-lowering benefits of the drugs outweigh the risk of side effects in healthy women? In theory, the drugs are to be aimed at high risk women, that is, women whose mothers or sisters had breast or ovarian cancer by the age of 50 and for whom the benefits would therefore probably outweigh any potential harm. Another problem with the drugs is their lack of immediate, tangible effects, making acceptance by patients and doctors difficult. While the progress of statins used to prevent heart disease can be monitored by reduced cholesterol levels, there is no such marker for breast cancer prevention, only the potential to lower risk. Another major issue in the UK is the absence of regulatory approval for breast cancer prevention drugs and a lack of financial incentive for drugs companies to apply for expensive new marketing licences from EU or UK regulatory bodies.

To read this interesting article in full and find out more about IBIS-II trial into anastrozole, please click here here.


Laura Smith 14th October 2011
l.smith@cancerkin.org.uk