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![Young women attending C4YW](/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/C4%206.jpg?itok=0OSAPQkQ)
Around 150 women under the age of 40 will be diagnosed with breast cancer in New Zealand each year and these women face many concerns that their older counterparts do not have to confront.
BCAC committee member Greer Davis understands these issues all too well. She is one of the 150 - she was diagnosed with breast cancer last year at the age of only 25.
She recently attended the annual conference for young women affected by breast cancer C4YW to hear a range of presenters discuss the issues and concerns that are specific to young women with breast cancer. This year’s conference was held in Seattle, in the USA and was co-hosted by Living Beyond Breast Cancer (www.lbbc.com) and Young Survival Coalition (www.youngsurvival.org).
Researchers have for the first time calculated by how much radiation therapy for breast cancer increases the risk of heart disease and the findings can now be used by doctors to help treat patients more appropriately.
The research, by scientists at the University of Oxford and in Scandinavia and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, looked at more than 2,000 women treated with radiation therapy in Denmark and Sweden.
They found that the risk of radiation-related heart disease was real, but that for most women it was small.
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Getting through breast cancer treatment can unleash a whole new set of emotions for many women.
You may be elated at finishing treatment, apprehensive about the lack of contact with medical professionals, scared about a recurrence of the cancer, or fearless about what the future holds.
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UK scientists have discovered a number of genes which are responsible for developing resistance to a targeted medicine used in the treatment of HER2-Positive breast cancer.
The team at the Institute of Cancer Research in London examined a number of genes that were overactive in women with HER2 Positive breast cancer who had developed a resistance to the drug Lapatinib (Tykerb).
Around 20 per cent of breast cancers are HER2 Positive and the targeted medicines Herceptin and Tykerb are most commonly used to treat women with this type of cancer. However, in some women a drug may stop being effective after being used for a certain period of time.
This latest research, funded by Breakthrough Breast Cancer, found several genes which change the way the Tykerb works.
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BCAC applauds the latest figures from BreastScreen Aotearoa, which show that more Pasifka women are going for regular mammograms than ever before.
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A new study shows that there’s been a small, but significant increase in the incidence of advanced breast cancer in young American women aged 25 to 39, without a corresponding increase in older women.
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Something for the men: Men's Group, at dove house
A breast cancer diagnosis has a far-reaching impact, affecting lives on many levels: practical, emotional, physical and spiritual. Family and friends offer much-needed support but often it is the husband or partner who must pull all the threads together, care for wife or partner and keep children, family, profession and life all moving forward. This is a group for partners, and grown up male family members.
The group meets at dove house http://ebhospice.org.nz/ at 6pm. Refreshments provided.
Dates for 2013:Wednesdays 29/5, 31/7, 25/9.
Please confirm attendance by phoning 09 575 4555 or 0800 11 22 77.
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The recent San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) highlighted many new advances in breast cancer research, but New Zealanders want to know when we'll benefit from these new approaches to breast cancer treatment.
BCAC chair, Libby Burgess attended SABCS and was invited to participate as a patient representative on an expert panel including world-leading oncologists and breast surgeons.
She gives us her assesssment of the major research advances announced at SABCS and her view on when we'll see these treatments in New Zealand.
Research Highlights:
![Waikato woman Raewyn Calvert has been involved in clinical trials.](/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/WEB%20Raewyn_0.jpg?itok=77uRmyOc)
There are numerous clinical trials taking place around New Zealand to gather evidence about new medicines or treatment methods that may help to improve breast cancer care in future.
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Get the latest news from the Waikato Breast Cancer Trust, including:
- a new year's honour for Associate Professor Dr Ian Campbell of the WBCT
- a study examining ethnic inequalities in breast cancer in New Zealand
- a clinical trial looking at a new oral chemotherapy drug.
Click here to read the WBCT's February 2013 newsletter February 2013 newsletter.
Plus Mother's Day is just around the corner - check out the Waikato Breast Cancer Trust Mother's Day offers!