On the pulse


Cancerkin's News Update.....

Glamgiving and Cancerkin…

Last month, Cancerkin was thrilled to be invited to take part in an exciting new initiative called Glamgiving. About to be launched by Louise Stacey, Glamgiving’s website will sell high end and designer clothes and accessories online that have been donated by retailers and individuals, with a high proportion of the proceeds going to charity. As part of this, Glamgiving plans to hold parties at which guests can donate and buy such luxury fashion wares. Cancerkin was lucky to be selected as one of the charities to benefit from Glamgiving’s first party on 13th June. The party raised an amazing £700 for Cancerkin, which will be put towards the running of our gold standard Lymphoedema clinic. We would like to thank Glamgiving and all those at its first event for their generosity, and we wish Louise all the best for the future!

Hyde Park Walk sponsorship…

Thank you once again to all those who have been busy collecting sponsorship money for the Hyde Park Walk and who have already sent it our way. The current total raised has already surpassed the £25,000 mark so well done to you all! There is still plenty of time to send in your funds – the deadline for monies to be received by the Cancerkin office is Monday 15th August 2011. You’re in with a chance of winning the title of one of our top three fundraisers and to receive a stunning prize donated by Floris. 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…

Would you like to work at Cancerkin? We are recruiting an Events, Fundraising and Promotions Intern and an East London Project Intern to join our team. To read more detailed descriptions of the roles, please visit our website. To apply please send a covering letter clearly stating why you would like the internship and what you think you can bring to the role plus an up-to-date CV to the following people:

For the Events, Fundraising and Promotions Internship, please apply to Laura Smith at l.smith@cancerkin.org.uk. The deadline for applications for is 1st August 2011.

For the East London Project Internship, please apply to Asini Wijewardane on a.wijewardane@cancerkin.org.uk.The deadline for applications for is 15th August 2011.

In the News.....

Research suggests new line of attack against cancer…

Scientists at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre at the Institute of Cancer Research (IRC) have this week announced the discovery of a new way in which chemotherapy drugs kill cancer cells, called necroptosis. It is hoped that the discovery will assist efforts in the fight against cancer, including breast cancer, by providing vital information on why certain patients do not respond to some chemotherapy drugs and showing how resistant tumours can be targeted in a new way.

Until recently, it was thought that cancer cell death as result of treatment happened through a process called apoptosis. This process is often blocked in cancer cells, leading cells to resist treatment and meaning they continue to grow and spread. Whilst examining how a certain group of chemotherapy drugs named topoisomerase inhibitors kill cancer cells, they found that some drugs actually use the process of necroptosis to kill cancer cells that are resistant to apoptosis. During the process of necroptosis, certain proteins within a cell are switched on, leading the cell to lose its membrane integrity and to self-destruct. Lab tests found that it is possible to switch on these proteins and to initiate necroptosis. The process rarely occurs in healthy cells and so these proteins may provide a target for new drugs that encourage cancer cell death but that leave healthy tissue unharmed, meaning fewer side effects for patients. Excitingly, a drug already exists which targets one of the proteins, named SMAC-mimetics, which is showing promise in clinical trials.

Study author Professor Pascal Meier, from the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre at the ICR in London, said of the discovery: "Chemotherapy has been around for decades but we have never understood how it kills cancer cells. This work shows not only that it can happen by two different processes, but how drugs can be developed to activate this newly discovered second cell-killing process in a much smarter, more effective way. We are at an early stage with this work but it could represent a new way of thinking about how we treat cancer patients in the future.”

To read more from Breakthrough Breast Cancer and from Cancer Research UK, please click here. and here.

Blogging to beat Breast Cancer…

The Daily Mail this week featured the inspiring story of one young woman’s efforts to come to terms with a breast cancer diagnosis at the age of 29. Following her diagnosis in August 2008, Emily Holt of Cotesbach, Leicestershire decide to start a blog about her experiences, sharing everything about her personal battle against the disease with the online community. Since beginning the blog, she has written about everything from having a mastectomy and the prospect of breast reconstruction to undergoing six months of chemotherapy and the resulting hair loss, and has now gathered a huge online following.

Emily said of her blog: “Writing the blog was both therapeutic and scary. It forced me to evaluate my mortality whilst trying to remain positive for the future. But it was like writing a diary, a diary that could provide hope and information to other young girls battling cancer. I wanted younger people to realise they're not invincible and they have to examine themselves. I've had lots of positive feedback from other suffers who say my blog inspired them to keep fighting, that is the best reward.'

To read more about Emily’s experiences, please click here for the full Daily Mail article.

Laura Smith

15 July 2011