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Why not help BCAC as you spread Christmas cheer this year? BCAC’s partnership with The Good Registry makes gift-giving easy. By clicking here you can buy gift certificates for those friends and family who already have everything they need, but would get a great feeling knowing they are helping women with breast cancer. The Good Registry is a wonderful volunteer organisation set up by some Wellington women who are passionate about doing good. They issue gift certificates which can be redeemed by donating to one of their charity partners – like BCAC! By donating to BCAC this Christmas, your friends and family can help us to keep supporting, informing and representing kiwi women with breast cancer.
Chair Libby Burgess and Secretary Fay Sowerby recently delivered BCAC’s 2024 Ministerial Briefing to Hon. Dr Shane Reti, Minister of Health. The briefing identifies priority areas for action to improve breast cancer outcomes. (You can read the full briefing by clicking here). Libby and Fay also met with Hon. Dr Ayesha Verrall (Labour) and MP Todd Stephenson (ACT) to discuss the briefing in detail, and it was copied to politicians with an interest in health and technology from all parties.
Over the last 25 years, Breast Screen Aotearoa (BSA) has provided more than 5 million free screening mammograms to New Zealand women. BCAC is pleased to see BSA celebrating this milestone and we encourage all eligible women to take advantage of the national screening programme. All women aged between 45 and 69 are entitled to a free mammogram every two years. Click here to learn more about the programme and to enrol, or phone 0800 270 200. Regular breast screening with a mammogram saves lives by finding breast cancer early, when treatment is more likely to cure the cancer.
International Metastatic (Advanced) Breast Cancer Day was celebrated in style with the Auckland Harbour Bridge bathed in blue, green and pink lights. Sweet Louise, a charity dedicated to supporting New Zealanders with metastatic breast cancer (MBC), hosted an event at the Royal NZ Yacht Squadron, the perfect venue to enjoy the lights on the bridge. The day is marked around the world with iconic monuments and buildings lit in the MBC colours of green for hope and renewal, blue for healing and spirituality and pink, the traditional breast cancer colour, #LightUpMBC.
If you have had axillary (armpit) lymph nodes removed during breast surgery, you may have been told that you should avoid any medical procedures involving needles on the affected arm. This traditional advice was based on the idea that using needles on this arm might increase the risk of lymphoedema. However, the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists have recently changed that recommendation, saying that clinical evidence shows that this is not the case and that the arm of the affected side can usually be safely used for medical procedures. In fact, they say, using the arm on the affected side can be better for patient safety and comfort.
It’s wonderful news for those with HER2 positive (HER2+) advanced breast cancer (ABC) that Pharmac proposes to fund Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan, T-DXd), a breakthrough HER2-targeted medicine, from 1st January 2025.
Enhertu has been shown to keep HER2+ ABC disease stable four times longer than current treatments, and results in a longer survival time. This time is precious for New Zealand women with breast cancer and we’re delighted to see that Enhertu will be funded.
One of the biggest challenges in any diagnosis, and treatment journey, is finding positivity during very worrying and difficult times.
It’s easy to be afraid and get stuck in a negative spiral. Being positive and thinking positively can help you cope with cancer, but it is natural to also feel upset and frightened sometimes. People with cancer are often encouraged to be positive. But it’s not always easy. It’s important to acknowledge there will be some very difficult days and allow ourselves to feel and express emotion.
If positivity doesn't feel right for you, or doesn't feel right in a specific situation, or on any given day, that's okay. Acknowledge how you’re feeling, allow it to be, and then think about some actions you might take to feel differently.
BCAC recently joined over twenty groups representing New Zealanders with a wide range of diseases to visit Wellington under the Patient Voice Aotearoa (PVA) banner. We met Hon. Dr Ayesha Verrall, Labour’s health spokesperson and former Health Minister, and visited Pharmac to hear Hon. David Seymour, Associate Health Minister (Pharmac) present his Letter of Expectation to Hon. Paula Bennett, Pharmac’s recently appointed Board Chair.
Good news for New Zealanders with advanced triple negative breast cancer. From 1st October 2024 Pharmac will fund Keytruda (pembrolizumab) for those with recurrent or metastatic triple negative breast cancer. Around 15% of all breast cancers, and 16% of metastatic breast cancers, are classified as triple negative. This type of breast cancer does not respond to medicines that target HER2 or oestrogen receptors and until now only chemotherapy was available for these patients in our public system. Keytruda is an immunotherapy that is expected to improve progression-free survival, overall survival and quality of life for people with triple negative breast cancer who have a PD-L1 Combined Positive Score ≥10.
Difficulty concentrating or forgetfulness experienced by some people during and after breast cancer treatment is known as brain fog or chemo brain. Researchers at Auckland University want to understand whether there are changes in the brain caused by cancer or its treatment. Better understanding will lead to improved management of this condition in future patients.
The study will involve MRI brain scans in newly diagnosed patients before surgery and after first chemotherapy. Healthy volunteers are also needed for comparative scans. Participants will need to fill out three questionnaires.
