It’s been a busy season for the Pink Dragons team and ending on a high with us finally winning a gold medal at this year’s National Championships at Blue Lake Rotorua. A number of new paddlers joined us throughout the season with a couple joining only weeks before Regionals and Nationals! Without all our new members we would not have been able to achieve our success this season. Our success is not only measured by the medals won but by the friendship and support given to…
New research shows that a 12-month treatment programme of Herceptin is still the best option for women with HER2-positive breast cancer, according to the Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition (BCAC).
The latest data from two large clinical trials investigating Herceptin (trastuzumab) was presented at the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Vienna, Austria overnight.
Psychologist Dr Geraldine Meechan takes us through the different emotional phases of breast cancer treatment and recovery and provides tips on how to manage the stress and anxiety.
BCAC is excited to see new results from a clinical trial which show that women diagnosed with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer lived longer when they received the experimental medicine T-DM1 (trastuzumab emtansine).
The results come out of the phase III EMILIA study which involves more than 990 women diagnosed with metastatic or advanced HER2–positive breast cancer who had stopped responding to standard treatments.
BCAC applauds a campaign which has seen a massive increase in mammogram screening for Chinese and Korean women in the Waitemata region of Auckland.
Breast screening uptake has soared by an extraordinary 88 per cent among Chinese and Korean women in the Waitemata District Health Board area in the three years to 2011.
The Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition (BCAC) says women can have confidence in the country’s breast screening programme and must continue to use it.
A group of clinicians and consumers from across the breast cancer spectrum have come together to form a working group to improve breast cancer care throughout New Zealand.
A New Zealand breast clinic will soon start using an innovative new software, which helps to measure breast density resulting in the more accurate identification of tumours.
The software has been developed by Wellington technology company, Matakina, and is already being used in the USA, South Korea and Malaysia.
Hereditary breast cancer is responsible for up to 10 per cent of breast cancers and genetic testing is available for women and men who think they may carry the gene mutation responsible for this type of breast cancer.
Here, Sianan Keating of New Zealand’s Genetic Health Service answers questions about hereditary breast cancer and genetic testing for the disease.
“Informative”, “helpful” and “useful" – these are the words newly diagnosed women use to describe the Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition’s Step by Step support pack, according to a recent analysis of feedback.
Since 2010, BCAC has distributed more than 3000 Step by Step support packs to New Zealanders diagnosed with breast cancer.
