On the pulse

Cancerkin's News Update.....


Being breast aware...

As you will know, Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October is now just around the corner. To mark the occasion, Cancerkin is releasing the latest version of its ‘Being Breast Aware’ leaflet, a free publication that gives guidance on how and why we check our breasts. It will be handed out at our Breast Awareness stall on Wednesday 12th October 2011 outside the Atrium at the Royal Free Hospital. We will also have books, gifts and cakes on offer on the day to raise funds for Cancerkin. The booklet will then be available from our centre from that date on, so please make sure you ask for your free copy!


The latest from East London...

Today, Cancerkin once again visited St Joseph’s Hospice for our monthly complementary therapy session. Our patients took part in dance, art therapy and yoga classes and were able to benefit from individual sessions in reiki, reflexology and massage. The next session will take place on Friday 7th October 2011 at the Bromley-By-Bow Community Centre, and will include a breast awareness stall with information on how to be breast aware. Cupcakes will be provided! To find our more, please contact Asini on a.wijewardane@cancerkin.org.uk or call 0207 830 2323.


Thank you, Karen!

This week we would like to say a big thank you to Karen Bernard for hosting a relaxation workshop at our patient support group on Tuesday. Karen, one of Cancerkin’s massage therapists, also specialises in guided relaxation and led a packed out session with 25 patients at the monthly meeting. Feedback has been extremely positive and we are so grateful to Karen for sharing her time and expertise with us.


In the News.....


New radiotherapy study...

Chemotherapy is usually given after breast cancer surgery, followed by radiotherapy. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment serve to destroy any remaining cancerous cells left in the breast, chest wall and underarm. However, the suitable timing of radiotherapy with chemotherapy has long been debated by cancer experts.

A recent Cancer Research UK study has shown that giving radiotherapy between or during chemotherapy cycles, a process known as synchronous chemoradiation, to women with early breast cancer can significantly reduce the risk of the disease returning. The trial involved 2,296 women who had undergone tumour removal surgery or a mastectomy. Synchronous chemoradiation reduced the risk of cancer returning by 35 percent among women in the early stages of the disease, without worsening the side effects. Researchers found that after eight years of treatment, cancer returned in the breast or chest wall of 41 of the patients who were given the synchronised treatment. Compared with the 63 patients whose cancer returned and who had received the standard sequence of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the number of recurring breast cancers after synchronous chemoradiation is significantly lower.

It is thought that not only could these findings be important for obtaining the best outcomes in breast cancer treatment, they may also be significant to the improvement of quality of life and length of disruptive treatment for patients. Study leader Dr Indrajit Fernando, Consultant Clinical Oncologist at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, said of the study: "Shortening the overall treatment time may mean that when patients have finished their last chemotherapy course they can return to their normal life without having to then complete their radiotherapy. This may also have economic benefits in terms of when patients can return to work." In response to the trial’s possible implications for patients with a recurrence, Liz Woolf, head of CancerHelp UK, said: “Breast cancer that has come back after treatment is always harder to treat and it’s encouraging to hear that giving radiotherapy and chemotherapy together can reduce the likelihood of this, without worsening the side effects.”

To read more on the topic, please click here.


Possible new treatment option for aggressive breast cancers...

HER2-positive breast cancer is an aggressive form of the disease diagnosed in around 10,000 British women every year, amounting to around 20 percent of all breast cancer cases annually. Early trials into a new drug suggest that it may help to slow the growth of these tumours when teamed with the already widely used drug Herceptin, providing a possible new treatment option for patients. The results are encouraging but scientists have been quick to emphasise that further trials are needed before the drug is considered as a viable treatment.

During the trial, doctors at hospitals across the world, including those in Manchester, Newcastle and Bournemouth in the UK, administered the new therapy to 137 breast cancer patients. The treatment is an injection that combines Heceptin with an antibody drug. Proteins in the drug seek out tumours and toxins are then released only once inside cancer cells, reducing the damage to healthy tissue. Results showed that the treatment seemed to halt the progression of the disease for longer than conventional drugs. On average, patients given the new therapy lived for 14 months without their cancer getting worse, whilst those given normal chemotherapy lived for nine month without any deterioration. The study also founds patients experienced fewer dangerous side-effects than with standard treatments.

A further clinical trial in now being conducted on at least 1,000 women in over 20 countries and results are expected in two years. Nell Barrie of Cancer Research UK said: "This approach combines two effective treatments but until we have results from larger, longer term trials we won't know for sure how beneficial this could be for patients with this particular type of breast cancer." Dr Rachel Greig of the Breakthrough Breast Cancer charity said: "This new drug may keep cancer at bay for longer than standard treatments with fewer side effects which crucially could offer patients a better quality of life. It’s important to emphasise this drug is still in trials and some years away from potentially being made available on the NHS.”

To read more, please click here.


Laura Smith
30th September 2011