On the pulse - 28th October 2011

On the pulse

Cancerkin's News Update.....

A night at the theatre...

Cancerkin is very much looking forward to its night out at Hampstead Theatre on Monday evening in honour of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We will be welcoming over 200 of our friends and supporters for a performance of ‘The Last of The Duchess’ starring Sheila Hancock. To read a review of the play, please click here. To add to the evening’s entertainment, we will be hosting a drinks reception before the performance and a raffle with fabulous prizes to be won. We hope you are as excited as we are!

News from East London...

It has been an exciting week for Cancerkin’s East London Project Team. As part of the launch of its ‘Awareness Ambassadors’ programme, the team is running breast awareness training sessions for students recruited from the University of East London’s School of Health. Once trained, they will act as local advocates for breast awareness within their communities and will also work with Cancerkin to hold awareness events in East London. Two very successful sessions took place this week, with a third planned for next Friday.

The Team has also returned to St Joseph’s Hospice in Hackney today to continue their free complementary therapy sessions for women living with cancer in East London. Patients took part in a range of therapy sessions, including reiki, reflexology, art therapy and tai chi and yoga. They also held a breast awareness stall with information on breast awareness, screening and Cancerkin’s support services.

Many thanks to all at the University of East London and St Joseph’s Hospice for their ongoing support of Cancerkin’s East London Project.

Thank you from Cancerkin...

This Tuesday was our monthly patient support group. Nutritional therapist Marta Vasquez gave a very informative talk on the science behind the food we eat and answered questions on what we should include in our diet and what we should avoid. Our ‘Experienced Patients’ Judy Sanitt and Janet Reilly then shared their experiences of breast cancer with the group and answered questions on a wide range of topics. On behalf of the group, we would like to say a huge thank you to all three women for such an informative and interesting session.

In the News.....

Review of breast screening launched...

As you will all be aware, there has been widespread debate about the benefits and risks of breast screening in recent months. It is widely acknowledged that in terms of cancer treatment, the earlier found the better. Screening programmes, such as the NHS breast cancer screening programme, can help doctors to make that earlier diagnosis. However they also run the risk of false positives in healthy people and overtreatment of cancers that may never have become harmful to a person’s health. Recent research has suggested these risks may outweigh the benefits of breast screening, whilst the NHS maintains that the programmes saves 1400 lives a year in the UK.

In response to the ongoing controversy, Professor Sir Mike Richards, UK Cancer Tsar (who spoke at Cancerkin’s Annual Lecture earlier this year), announced on Wednesday that he will lead a review of evidence for and against breast screening, in the hope of settling the debate. He said of the review’s possible outcomes: "Should the independent review conclude that the balance of harms outweighs the benefits of breast screening, I will have no hesitation in referring the findings to the UK National Screening Committee and then ministers. I am fully committed to the public being given information in a format... that enables them to make truly informed choices."

The review will be lead jointly by Professor Richards and Cancer Research UK.The director of health information at CRUK, Sara Hiom, said of the review: "Women need more accurate, evidence-based and clear information to be able to make an informed choice about breast screening. The decision whether to be screened is a personal one, but that decision should be made with all of the potential harms and benefits fully explained." Meanwhile, a Department of Health spokesperson said: "Our advice has not changed - we urge all women to go for breast screening when invited. The best available evidence shows that screening saves lives by detecting cancers earlier than they would otherwise have been."

To listen to Professor Richards speak on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, click here. To read more about the review, please click here.

Radiotherapy and breast cancer recurrence...

The results of a large study into the effects of radiotherapy on the return of breast cancer, funded by Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation and the Medical Research Council, were published this week in The Lancet journal. The data is a collation of the histories of all women who took part in 17 worldwide trials of radiotherapy given to patients after surgery, totalling over 10,000 women. Researcher founds that in the ten years following breast conserving surgery, radiotherapy could cut the rate at which breast cancer recurs by half.

Results showed 10 years after diagnosis, 35 percent of women who hadn't received radiotherapy had a recurrence of breast cancer. In those who had had radiotherapy, breast cancer returned in 19 percent of women. Whilst it is too early to draw definitive conclusions about radiotherapy’s effect on improving survival rates, the research suggests that by 15 years after diagnosis, 25 per cent of those who did not undergo the treatment had died, compared with 21 per cent of women who had had radiotherapy.

Professor Peter Johnson, Cancer Research UK's chief clinician, said of the study’s results: "This research confirms the lasting benefit of radiotherapy treatment after breast conserving surgery for women with breast cancer. It appears to be equally effective across all breast cancers, with most women benefitting when the risk of recurrence is highest - younger women and those with high-grade tumours. Radiotherapy is a vital cancer treatment.”

To read more, click here.

Laura Smith 28th October 2011