On the pulse
Cancerkin's News Update.....
The Last of the Duchess...
On Monday, Cancerkin and its supporters spent an evening at the theatre for a special performance of ‘The Last of the Duchess’ in honour of breast cancer awareness month. We all very much enjoyed the play, which starred actor and breast cancer survivor Sheila Hancock. Ms Hancock met with a number of our guests after the performance to show her support of Cancerkin. Click here to see photos from the evening.
The event was a great success and we hope all those who attended enjoyed the evening as much as we did. We are pleased to announce that all in all we have raised over £12,000. Thank you all for supporting us! We would like to thank all those who donated such wonderful prizes to our raffle – Ana Maria Pires, Bradley’s Restaurant, Daniel Adams Hairdressers, Floris of London, Pizza Express, Ozzis Hair Studio and the Hampstead Theatre - and well done to our lucky raffle winners! Cancerkin would also like to say a special thank you to Royal Free Hospital photographer David Bishop, who took such beautiful photographs of the evening and who helps Cancerkin with so many of its events and promotions. Thank you once again David.
Maggie’s Getting Started workshop...
Also on Monday, Cancerkin was excited to host Maggie’s ‘Getting started with cancer treatment’ workshop, lead by the Centre Head of Maggie’s London and clinical nurse specialist, Bernie Byrne. 13 women attended the workshop, designed for those who have been recently diagnosed with cancer. The session provided information to help those affected by the disease better understand their cancer treatment, manage their side effects and focus on their wellbeing. Feedback from our patients has been extremely positive and we would like to thank Bernie for leading such an informative and positive workshop.
Calling all glamorous givers...
Cancerkin is thrilled to announce an exciting new partnership with innovative social enterprise Glamgiving. Glamgiving collects and sells high quality designer fashion and donates the proceeds to a good cause. It gives clothes that are just too good for the charity shop a second life and ensures that they go for the price they deserve. Glamgiving helps to organise ‘glam parties’ at which guests can donate and buy high-end fashion pieces, as well as collecting individual donations of clothes to be sold through its website, which is due to be fully launched early next year. To find out more, click here.
Cancerkin has been selected as Glamgiving’s launch partner charity and funds raised by the initiative will finance a day of treatment in our specialised lymphoedema clinic and a professional counsellor to oversee our North and East London teams of ‘Experienced Patients’. We hope that our fashion conscious supporters will get involved with this initiative and consider becoming the host of their own ‘glam party’! Please contact Louise on lou@glamgiving.com if you would like to know how.
In the News.....
New research into breast cancer risk and family history...
Having a family history of breast cancer can affect an individual’s risk of developing the disease. A fault or mutation appearing on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes can be inherited from a mother or father and can increase a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer by between 50 and 85 percent. When a woman is discovered to have a BRCA 1 or BRCA2 mutation, other female family members are routinely screened for the same mutation.
New research published this week in The Journal of Clinical Oncology has shown reassuring results for women with relatives who have the faulty breast cancer gene. Researchers at Stanford University looked at more than 3,000 families with a mutation. The research found that women who have relatives with the high risk BRCA gene mutation but who do not carry the mutation themselves are not at greater risk of developing the disease, as previously thought. An earlier study published in 2007 suggested that even when a woman who had family members carrying the gene mutation had tested negative for the mutation herself, she was still up to five times more likely to develop breast cancer. The most recent research contradicts this, suggesting that if women with high-risk family members test negative for the faulty BRCA gene, they have the same risk as the rest of the general population.
The research team believes these new finding may provide some reassurance to those women in high-risk families. Dr Harold Burstein, breast oncologist at Dana-Farber Institute at Boston said: “Women with a family history of breast cancer are understandably worried about their own risk of developing breast cancer. This study provides strong reassurance that 'no means no' when it comes to negative results on the BRCA1 / BRCA2 genetic tests for these patients. That is, despite the family history, the risk of breast cancer is not greater than that for ordinary women in similar circumstances when the genetic test is 'normal.'”
To read more, click here and here.
More on alcohol and breast cancer...
While it has long been acknowledged that alcohol is a risk factor for breast cancer, it has previously been unclear how drinking small amounts of alcohol affects risk. Results from a new American study, published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggest that even low-level alcohol consumption can significantly increase risk.
A team of researchers at Brigham and Women’s hospital in Boston in the US analysed data from 105,986 women in the ‘Nurses’ Health Study’. 7,600 of the participants went on to be diagnosed with breast cancer over an 18 year period. The team found that those who drank a low level amount of an average of three to six small drinks a week had an increased risk of around 15 percent when compared with those who did not drink at all. According to results, those who drank a more excessive amount of at least two drinks a day were 51 percent more likely to develop breast cancer.
Sarah Williams, health information officer at Cancer Research UK, said: "This study adds to already strong evidence that drinking even small amounts of alcohol increases the risk of breast cancer. Researchers found a small increased risk for low alcohol intake but the risk increases the more people drink. And the study re-confirmed that all types of alcohol - beer, wine and spirits - increase the risk of cancer. Cutting down on alcohol can reduce the chance of developing breast cancer - as can keeping a healthy weight and being physically active. A healthy lifestyle isn't a guarantee against cancer but it helps stack the odds in our favour."
To read more on this study, please click here.
Bernie Byrne is not so 'great' if you have an unpronounceable name ...unless you're famous of course! Didn't find her at all helpful - the receptionist was more help frankly!
ReplyDelete