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A new dragon boat season is upon us, and this is a great sport for those recovering from Breast Cancer treatment. With the borders opening up worldwide, the opportunity to go global again is super exciting as well as lots of great regattas here in Aotearoa.
We train Tuesday & Thursday nights at Westhaven, 6-7pm on the water, and add a third training day, Sunday, in the new year. There are always opportunities for those wishing to paddle or learn how to steer the boat to come along and join in.
If you're keen to give it a go - get in touch at info@pinkdragons.org.nz.
The Breast Cancer Foundation NZ regularly runs webinars on topics of interest to kiwis experiencing breast cancer, with local experts sharing information relevant to us. These are run online and also recorded for later viewing.
You can find out about the next BCFNZ webinar by regularly checking Upcoming events on BCAC’s homepage.
Click the links below to see to videos of past BCFNZ webinars:
Breast Cancer Trials (BCT) is an Australia/ New Zealand organisation that supports breast cancer research. BCT’s Q and A sessions bring together a panel of experts to answer questions about various breast cancer topics. These meetings are run in person and online, and are video recorded.
You can find out about the next BCT Q and A session by regularly checking Upcoming events on BCAC’s homepage.
You can view videos of past Q and A sessions by following the links below:
Breast cancer research update: current progress and future pathways
On the 11th of May we lost Kathleen Moriarty - An inspirational Leader, Founder, Team Captain, Sweep, fellow Dragon boater and Passionate Promoter of our Club and the sport of Dragon Boating to the very last.
That she was able to realize so many of her dreams this year is a huge consolation to us all.
Kathleen’s joy at attending Nationals 2023 and the International Breast Cancer Paddling Festival as part of the Taranaki Pinks at Lake Karapiro was evident to all who saw her.
Originally a Facebook group for people to find solidarity and share their experiences with a breast cancer diagnosis, the community has established a Registered Charitable Trust and a Board of Trustees. The newly formed organisation has a website where individuals can register for bi-monthly newsletters and donate to support the mahi of creating more opportunities for peer to peer connections and the sharing of lived experience to aid those navigating life with breast cancer. The organisation is powered by volunteers who have personally experienced breast cancer. If you are interested in volunteering your skills, get in touch.
The Suppression of Ovarian Function Trial (SOFT) randomly assigned premenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer to 5 years of adjuvant tamoxifen, tamoxifen plus ovarian function suppression (OFS), or exemestane plus OFS. After 8 years, SOFT reported a significant reduction in recurrence and improved overall survival for those who had received tamoxifen plus OFS, compared with those who had received tamoxifen alone.
The FINER clinical trial aims to find out if advanced ER-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer will remain under control for longer in patients who are given a new drug, ipatasertib, in addition to the standard treatment, fulvestrant. Ipatasertib works by blocking a cancer cell growth pathway (called PI3K-AKT-mTOR), which has been shown to be involved in some ER-positive breast cancers becoming resistant to treatment.
Who is the trial for? Those whose advanced ER-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer has progressed after ‘first line’ treatment with a CDK 4/6 inhibitor (such as palbociclib (Ibrance)) and an aromatase inhibitor (such as anastrozole, exemestane or letrozole).
BCAC has been honoured to record the stories of many New Zealanders with advanced breast cancer. We hope that their stories and photos will give you insight into their experiences and their thoughts, and will give you an idea of what life with advanced breast cancer is like.
To view our series Gifts to the Future, He Koha ā Mua Legacy Videos, click here.
To see videos made by members of Metavivors New Zealand, click here. To learn more about the Metavivors NZ peer support group for those with advanced breast cancer, click here.
The breast cancer experience presents some unique challenges for LGBTQI+ people. In addition to the usual stress of facing a cancer diagnosis and treatments, LGBTQI+ people often have to deal with the reactions of those around them. These may range from unfamiliarity with and incorrect assumptions about our relationships, our gender identity, our body image etc, right through to outright discrimination. Having to ‘educate’ even well-meaning clinicians and carers can be extra burden for LGBTQI+ people during a highly stressful time.
Below are some online resources which may help:
