Latest News
As New Zealand moves to halt the spread of the new flu-like virus COVID-19 (Coronavirus), we have pulled together this information for New Zealanders with breast cancer and their families and whānau. This virus can affect lungs and airways, and has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation.
BCAC media release - 5 March 2020
It is fantastic news that funding for a vital drug for women with advanced breast cancer, palbociclib (Ibrance), will cover the costs for all those who need it , Libby Burgess, Chair of the Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition (BCAC) says.
“It’s wonderful that Ibrance will be funded for New Zealand women who have already received other treatments for advanced hormone receptor positive, HER2 negative breast cancer, in addition to those newly diagnosed and about to start their first treatment. It’s a hugely important medicine that halts or slows the progress of this type of cancer, giving women more quality time to live their lives,” Libby says.
PINC&STEEL Cancer Rehabilitation Foundation NZ is proud to launch the details of the first ever worldwide ‘Cancer Rehab Awareness Week Campaign'
There are so many people missing out on cancer rehab services due to a real lack of awareness. This has to change to minimise the risk of preventable long-term disability and suffering for anyone affected by cancer.
Have you or someone you know had breast cancer and want to try something new?
Come and give dragon boating a go.
It's fun, great for fitness and proven to be beneficial for breast cancer survivors. Come and find out what dragon boating is all about at one of our monthly regattas over the winter from May onwards.
Become part of a team of women who participate in this sport whilst having a huge amount of fun. We'd love you to join us.
For more information about the Busting with Life team who are based in Auckland, call Vicki on 021 038 2581 or Marion 027 256 5827, or email info@bustingwithlife.co.nz
Look Good Feel Better FREE classes are for any person, facing any cancer, at any time in their treatment. Anyone who has been diagnosed and is undergoing treatment for cancer can register.
Trial Design
The PantoCIN trial will test the ability of a cheap, widely available drug to prevent two of chemotherapy’s most unpleasant side-effects: delayed nausea and vomiting.
This study explores whether a commonly used medication called pantoprazole can help prevent delayed nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy for early breast cancer.
Delayed nausea, and occasionally vomiting, can occur after breast cancer chemotherapy, affecting the quality of life. A potential cause of these delayed side effects is that the chemotherapy may cause stomach irritation. Pantoprazole is commonly used to treat stomach irritation by reducing stomach acid, which may, in turn, improve nausea and/or vomiting.
A study comparing annual breast screening to screening personalised according to a woman’s risk was presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
BCAC Secretary Fay Sowerby, who attended the presentation, says she was intrigued by this new trial, WISDOM. Annual screening is standard in the United States, whereas screening takes place every two years for women in NZ.
The trial results to date provide interesting insights for New Zealanders despite this difference, Fay says. “New Zealand may gain benefit from initiating a similar trial so that we may learn more about the challenges those at higher risk may face, and at the same time enable those at lowest risk to be screened less frequently.”
A clinical trial shows that tucatinib, an investigative therapy used in combination with trastuzumab and capecitabine, reduces risk of death at two years by one-third in women with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (HER2+ MBC).
BCAC media release, 15 January 2020: Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition (BCAC) is delighted to hear that Ibrance (palbociclib) will be funded by PHARMAC from 1 April 2020.
“This will be a huge relief for the hundreds of New Zealand women who are struggling to self-fund this medicine,” says BCAC’s Chair, Libby Burgess. “It’s also great that the manufacturer Pfizer will provide Ibrance free of charge from now until April.”
BCAC would love you to show support for an intrepid couple who cycled from Dunedin to Parliament to garner support for a petition that would help improve the lives of women with breast cancer and people with other diseases.
