On the pulse

Cancerkin’s News….
Breast Cancer Awareness Month at Cancerkin…
On Friday, we rounded off a highly successful week of events for Breast Cancer Awareness Month with a talk by Mr Tim Davidson ChM, MRCP, FRCS on ‘the current state of breast cancer treatment’. Mr Davidson discussed the treatments available for breast cancer patients, focusing in particular on the development of surgical treatment options, and explained the process by which the appropriate treatment is chosen. His very informative talk was followed by questions from the audience, giving many of our patients the opportunity to find out more about treatment. We would like to thank Mr Davidson for lending his time and expertise to Cancerkin.

Next session in East London...
As part of our ongoing East London Programme, we are holding our fourth complementary therapy session at St. Joseph’s Hospice in Hackney on Monday 25th October, offering over 30 women from all over East London an opportunity to try out a range of therapies. This session will include Art Therapy, Massage, Soul Therapy, Reflexology, Reiki and Tai Chi, and our President, Mr Santilal Parbhoo, will give a Breast Cancer Information talk to the group.

In the News…
Rebirth of Venus...
In September, we reported on a new project designed to raise breast cancer awareness - the innovative “Everyone is Art” campaign. As part of the Samsung More Than Talk Breast Health Awareness campaign, people affected by breast cancer were invited to upload photos, from which 1,096 were selected by British artist Samira Harris and used in her giant recreation of Botticelli’s ‘Birth of Venus’. A particularly poignant number, 1096 represents the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer in Europe each day.












Through using an interactive internet campaign, the project has been able to involve a wide cross-section of people and the finished piece features the faces of men and women, young and old, highlighting the fact that breast cancer affects people of all ages and genders. On the Pulse has previously reported that an increasing number of young women are being diagnosed with the breast cancer and, as reported in The Telegraph this week, around 300 men are diagnosed with the disease in the UK every year. Speaking in the newspaper, Henry Conway, a socialite whose photo appears in the work, said that he decided to contribute his image as he wanted to help raise awareness by changing the perception of breast cancer as a disease only affecting middle-aged women.

Measuring 6ft by 5ft, the artwork will now be auctioned to raise money for breast cancer awareness and 20 of the chosen images will be displayed on the big screen at Piccadilly Circus this month. Look out for them there! To read more about the campaign, click here or visit http://www.morethantalk.eu/.

Early onset of puberty has implications for breast cancer risk…
An article published this week in The Guardian has thrown light on an increasing trend of early puberty in children of primary school age. Peter Hindmarsh, professor of paediatric endocrinology at Great Ormond St Hospital in London, stated that conclusive evidence shows puberty is arriving earlier and earlier in girls, with those as young as eight or nine starting to develop breasts and have periods. “Between 1958 and 2005 breast development – the sign that puberty is starting in girls – moved about nine months ahead of where it used to be” he explained. The average age for the onset of puberty in girls is now 10.75 years. In light of this trend, an increasing amount of research demonstrates that girls who reach puberty at a young age are more likely to develop breast cancer in adulthood, meaning more and more young girls are potentially at a higher risk of developing the disease.

The early arrival of puberty is predominantly linked to increased body weight, a pertinent issue in a society struggling with childhood obesity. When a child’s body reaches a certain size at an earlier age than expected, hormone changes are triggered, instigating the onset of puberty. Other research has suggested possible links between early puberty and weak maternal bonding, an absent father, the presence of an unrelated father figure and exposure to artificial light and television screens, and between later puberty and having older brothers. “The age of sexual maturation is highly adaptable,” explained Mr Hindmarsh. “The drive to continue the species is so strong that we have evolved a system that is extremely sensitive to change.”

Unfortunately, early puberty has serious physical and psychological implications for young girls. Besides social problems at school and issues with body-image and self-esteem, research suggests it may increase the risk of ovarian cancer and heart disease, as well as breast cancer, later on in life. To read about this worrying trend in more detail, please click here.

“Breast Healthy” lifestyle can help women with family history of breast cancer...
It has long been acknowledged that a healthy lifestyle can help to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer. A recent study into the impact healthy living can have on this risk, published on the online journal Breast Cancer Research, has brought good news to women with a family history of breast cancer, who are often at a higher risk of developing the disease. Results suggest that “breast healthy” behaviour – regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight and limiting alcohol intake - can benefit those with a familial predisposition to the disease.

By observing the lifestyle habits of 85,000 postmenopausal women between the ages of 50 and 79, the study discovered that, in women who had at least one close relative with a breast cancer diagnosis after the age of 45 and who practised “breast healthy” behaviour, rates of breast cancer were reduced. Among those who exercised for 20 minutes five times a week, maintained a healthy body weight and who drank no more than one alcoholic drink a day, the rate of invasive breast cancer was 5.94 per 1,000 woman-years. Among those with the same family history but who did not follow the three healthy steps, the rate was significantly higher, at 6.79 per 1,000 woman-years.

Dr Gramling, who led the study at the University of Rochester Medical Centre, said: "Untangling the degree to which genes, environments, and behaviors contribute to the disease is difficult. But our study shows that engaging in a healthy lifestyle can help women, even when familial predisposition is involved." If you would like to read more about the study, please click here.

Laura Smith 21st October 2010
l.smith@cancerkin.org.uk

On the pulse

Cancerkin’s News….
Breast Cancer awareness month events this week…
On Wednesday, Dr Alison Jones gave a highly informative and interesting lecture as the first of our Breast Cancer Awareness Month talks this week. Talking on the subject of ‘advances in drug treatment’, Dr Jones touched on past, present and future developments in breast cancer treatment and helped to explain how decisions about treatment are made, which drugs are available, why they are chosen and how drug treatment will evolve in the future. Afterwards, she held a question and answers session, giving many of our patients the opportunity to find out more about treatment. We would like to thank Dr Jones for sharing her expertise with us.

Also on Wednesday, we held our annual Breast Cancer Awareness Month sale, which was another huge success. All in all, we raised over £800 and this was largely thanks to Rada Ristic, who had kindly donated her extensive book collection to Cancerkin for fundraising when she died. We would like to thank all those who visited our stall and helped make the sale a hit. We really appreciate the hard work done by our volunteers who helped to collect donations and to hand out cake on the day – thank you!

Goodbye Lauren!
Lauren Newton, our Events and Development manager, will be leaving the Cancerkin team at the end of this week. She’s off on her travels before beginning a new job at Accenture, but will be back to support Cancerkin efforts in the future. We wish her all the best!

Creative writing in November…
Lily Seibold is back, holding her next creative writing session on Monday 1st November 2010 at 10am-3pm. This workshop will focus on the theme of ‘Friendship’. If you would like to attend, please email our Office Manager Habeeb at h.ahmed@cancerkin.org.uk or call 0207 830 2323 to book your place.

In the news…
Drug advances for triple negative breast cancer…
As we reported in On the pulse in September, scientists have recently made breakthrough progress in understanding the development of ‘triple negative’ breast cancer (TNBC), a particularly aggressive form of cancer that often affects younger women. As reported in The Telegraph this week, new advances in treatment for TNBC have been made, which could almost double survival times for many women.

Of the 46,000 people diagnosed with breast cancer each year, 15 to 25% are cases of TNBC and treatment options for women with the disease are currently very limited. Trials into a new drug called Iniparib have produced positive results, with survival times in patients with advanced TNBC increasing on average from 7.7 months to 12.3 months. The trial of 116 patients found that, on average, when combined with chemotherapy, Iniparib shrank tumours, stopped cancers getting worse for nearly six months and increased survival by almost 5 months.

Iniparib belongs to a group of anti-cancer drugs known as Parp-inhibitors. They work by inhibiting enzymes that normally repair damage to DNA but that, when taken over by cancer, advance its growth. Breakthrough Breast Cancer have welcomed the study’s research into this group of drugs and described its results as ‘encouraging.’ However, further clinical trials with the drug will be necessary before it can be made available to breast cancer patients and the final phase of trials is due to start next year. Once approved, the drug could benefit thousands of women with triple negative breast cancer. If you would like to read more about the trials, please click here.

Healthy eating can cut the risk of breast cancer…
In a society that is troubled by increasing levels of obesity, it is well known that being significantly overweight can contribute to the risk of developing breast cancer. In fact, according to an article published in The Daily Mail this week, obesity is thought to be the cause of up to a third of all cases. As part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the newspaper has released a series of articles detailing two new, but very different diets that both claim to reduce the risk of developing the disease. While both concentrate on helping us to lose weight, they also claim to have added cancer-fighting benefits.

A new book written by the American dietician Dr Mary Flynn advises that we should not obsessively count calories but should eat as many foods with cancer-fighting properties as we can. She suggests avoiding food without these properties, so that means no meat or fish. In her eyes, the ideal diet would be an entirely vegetarian one, which includes plenty of cancer-beating olive oil, wholegrain, vegetables and fruit, some dairy and eggs and even the odd glass of wine. If you would like to learn more about Dr Mary Flynn’s diet and to find examples of some detailed meal plans, click here.

Taking a quite different approach, a strict low calorie diet has appeared following a study conducted by the Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester and published in the International Journal of Obesity. A group of women kept to a specially formulated diet consisting of just 650 calories for two days a week, a figure that is a third of the daily recommended intake for women. After 6 months, scientists found the women lost weight and also had considerably lower levels of cancer-causing hormones in their blood. The science behind the diet suggests that when the body is deprived of food, less sugar reaches breast cells, making them less likely to divide and become cancerous. Commenting on the study, however, Dr Julie Sharp of Cancer Research UK said, ‘this study is not about breast cancer, it’s a study showing how different diet patterns affect weight loss and it’s misleading to draw any conclusions about breast cancer from this research.’ To read more about the findings of the study click here.

Possible link between breast cancer and air pollution…
Scientists in Canada have evidence to suggest that post-menopausal women living in areas with high levels of traffic-related air pollution are at a higher risk of developing breast cancer. Researchers at the McGill University and the University of Montreal cross-referenced air pollution maps with maps displaying the home addresses of women diagnosed with the disease, and found that those living in areas with higher levels of nitrogen oxide, found in car exhaust fumes, were much more likely to develop breast cancer. They found that post-menopausal women living in the most polluted areas were almost twice as likely to develop the disease as those living in areas with the lowest levels.

Co-author of the study, Mark Goldberg, stated that, even after other risks contributing to the development of breast cancer had been factored in, for example smoking, drinking and hazards in the workplace, ‘ the results were startling’. However, another University of Montreal researcher, France Labrèche added that more research was required before conclusions could be drawn. She said “at the moment, we are not in a position to say with assurance that air pollution causes breast cancer. However, we can say that the possible link merits serious investigation." To read the article in full, please click here.

Laura Smith 15th October 2010
l.smith@cancerkin.org.uk

On the pulse

Cancerkin news…
Pilates event…
Next Tuesday, the 12th October, Cancerkin patient and qualified Pilates teacher of 18 years, Alison Swan is running a Charity Pilates day between 10am-5pm at the Royal Free Hospital Recreation Club. Aiming to raise awareness of breast cancer during Breast Cancer Awareness Month and to celebrate the first anniversary since her diagnosis, Alison will be aiming to teach as many people in one day as she can. Group classes will begin on the hour, every hour with several teachers from the Pilates Foundation on hand to help & provide a few private sessions to anyone who may like one. A masseuse will be available to provide all participants with luxury massages after their gentle exercise. All abilities, ages and sexes are welcome and there is no specific cost for the sessions, however we will be asking for donation to be given towards the Cancerkin Centre which helped Alison and hundreds of women like her come to terms with their diagnosis and treatment with positivity and courage.

If you would like to attend one of the group classes please just turn up at the Royal Free Recreation Club on Fleet Road or to book a session please email Alison at info@pilatesmatwork.co.uk.

Cancerkin’s new recruits…
After advertising the return of our internship programme a few weeks ago, three new interns have been selected and begun their programme with us this week. Henry Ezenwa will be working with Habeeb on Finance, IT and Office Management, Sumaiya Farooq will be assisting Asini on the East London Outreach Programme and Laura Smith is training in Events and Fundraising. The new recruits will be in the office all day, every day and will be very happy to help you in any way they can.

East London update….
As you know, as part of Cancerkin’s East London programme, we have started running monthly free complementary therapy sessions in East London. Last week, we held our third session at St Joseph’s Hospice in Hackney and it was our most successful session to date. Nearly 40 women from all over East London benefited from a range of one to one and group therapies, including reflexology, massage, reiki, soul therapy and even dance therapy! The feedback we received from the patients was fantastic , with all saying how much they benefitted from receiving our treatments.

Cancerkin has not worked alone in its East London outreach and we would like to thank the Newham, Homerton, St Bartholomew and Whipps Cross hospitals and our local partner organisations for all their support in making this session a success. Cancerkin also wants to especially thank all the staff at St Joseph’s Hospice for all their support and assistance in ensuring the smooth running and success of the sessions.

Next week’s Breast Awareness Month events…
Next week Dr Alison Jones and Mr Tim Davidson will be giving talks about issues surrounding breast cancer in the board room of the Cancerkin Centre. The talks will place at the following times:

Dr Alison Jones MD FRCP : Wednesday 13th October 4pm
‘Advances in drug treatment’
(Please arrive at 3.30pm for tea and cakes)

Mr Tim Davidson ChM MRCP FRCS: Friday 15th October 11am
‘Current state of breast cancer treatment’
(Please arrive at 10.30am for coffee and croissants)

If you would like to attend either or both of these talks please email info@cancerkin.org.uk or call 0207 830 2323 to register your name.

On Wednesday 13th October, the same day as Dr Alison Jones’ talk, we will also be holding our annual breast cancer awareness sale. The stall will be positioned next to the Atrium by the main entrance to the hospital and will be open from 10am-4pm with a variety of products on sale, including many books on cancer, nutrition, positive thinking etc. We would be grateful for your support, so please do come in early before Dr Jones’ talk and pop along and see us.

In the news…
Reducing the risk of breast cancer…
In light of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, The Telegraph published an article last week, breaking down the myths and theories about breast cancer – separating them from the core facts and realities. The fad theories that were dispelled included: coffee, stress, food additives, antiperspirants, underwired bras, pesticides and abortions – none of which are evidenced to give you cancer. Conversely, some of the big risks to avoid were nicotine, sustained long-term use of the contraceptive pill and HRT – all of which have a proven association with the risk of breast cancer development.

This list is not unique and all too often the media is flooded with the new ‘threat’ of breast cancer, so it was nice to see the article noting the positive things we can do to improve our chances of avoiding a diagnosis. Such examples included: breastfeeding and having children before the age of 35, cutting down on alcohol, taking regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight and eating less fat. Aside from looking after yourself and perhaps avoiding some of the risks mentioned above, women all over should be regularly checking their breasts to look out for any unusual changes. Read the article in full, including other risks here.

Painless laser device could spot early signs of breast cancer…
A portable device using painless laser beams could be used within the next 5 years as a new non-invasive way to diagnosis breast cancer. This development would not only change the face of a typical mammography but also make the breast cancer diagnosis process faster, cheaper and more accurate.

In a sick person, unhealthy tissue has a very different chemical mix to normal healthy tissue. As a result, the laser will be able to recognise the abnormal composition of diseased tissue when placed on the skin’s surface. This technique could therefore allow doctors to spot the early signs of breast cancer in a painless and non-invasive manner, enabling them to quickly detect abnormalities and to decide if a tumour is benign or malignant. Only patients with malignant tumours would then be sent for biopsy, saving over 80,000 patients from having secondary procedures in the UK alone.
If you would like to read more about the development of this method, click here.

A novel way to raise breast awareness…
It has been revealed that the appearance of cryptic status updates on social networking site Facebook, is in fact the latest attempt to raise the profile of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Across the nation, women have been secretly invited by their female Facebook friends to post on their profile where it is they like to leave their handbag. As a result status’ have started to appear saying things like: ‘I like it on the floor’, ‘the stairs’ or even ‘the kitchen table’. These suggestive updates have been raising eyebrows across the web, with male user clueless as to their real meaning.

This year’s viral campaign, passed on from user to user by private message, follows the success of a previous series of updates whereby women simply posted a colour as their status. In this instance the colour written in the individual’s status referred to the colour of her bra that day. A novel, fun and somewhat risqué way to provoke discussion about breast cancer during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the campaign has achieved its aim and got people talking about breast cancer and its risks. Moreover, in using Facebook, arguably the leader in the recent social network phenomenon, the campaign is engaging with younger women and teenage girls – a group we have covered several times in recent On the pulse’s as becoming more and more vulnerable to a breast cancer diagnosis. Why not show your support of this campaign and change your Facebook status!
To read more about this innovative approach to breast awareness please click here.

Lauren Newton 8th October 2010

l.newton@cancerkin.org.uk