Latest News
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.
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.
BCAC applauds the latest figures from BreastScreen Aotearoa, which show that more Pasifka women are going for regular mammograms than ever before.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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!
Following treatment for breast cancer, many women want to know what they can do to ensure the cancer does not return. There’s one simple thing you can do to help reduce your risk – exercise!
Many studies have shown that an active lifestyle can help to reduce the incidence of breast cancer, but studies now also show that regular exercise can help to prevent breast cancer returning.
A Women’s Health Initiative longtitudinal study, examining more than 4,600 postmenopausal women, found that those who reported exercising for more than three hours a week were 40 per cent less likely to die from breast cancer.
A recent study has found a further link between low vitamin D levels and premenopausal breast cancer.
The study, by researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, examined 1,200 healthy women and found that those whose serum vitamin D levels were low during the three-month period just before diagnosis had approximately three times the risk of breast cancer as women in the highest vitamin D group.
Several previous studies have shown that low serum levels of vitamin D are associated with a higher risk of premenopausal breast cancer.
