Latest News
Artist Penny Kember, who paints under the name Merthyr Ruxton, will open a new exhibition this week at the Railway St Studios in Newmarket, Auckland.
Following her own diagnosis and recovery from breast cancer some years ago Penny has generously agreed to donate a portion of the sales proceeds to the Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition (BCAC).
A recently published paper by a New Zealand surgeon comparing breast cancer survival rates in Australia and New Zealand reveals lower overall survival rates at five years for New Zealand women, with Māori and Pacific survival found to be significantly worse than other ethnicities.
Using data from the Quality Audit (BQA) of Breast Surgeons of Australia and New Zealand, the largest New Zealand breast cancer database outside of the NZ Cancer Registry, breast cancer survival was compared by ethnicity, deprivation, remoteness, clinical characteristics and caseload. The database covered around 50% of early breast cancer diagnosed from 1998-2010 and survival times were calculated from the date of diagnosis until 31 December 2010 or the time of death.
Read all the latest news from BCAC member group, The Gift of Knowledge in their most recent newsletter for December 2014. Click here http://www.giftofknowledge.co.nz/Newsletters/December-2014/#toc
The Metavivors NZ Facebook group was set up by BCAC in early 2014 to provide a safe peer support space for those with advanced (metastatic, secondary, Stage 4) breast cancer and to advocate for better treatment and care.
Support and friendship
Metavivors NZ is a safe and supportive online community for New Zealanders living with advanced breast cancer. It aims to provide mutual support, friendship, information and strength to all those who find themselves facing diagnosis and treatment for advanced breast cancer.
BCAC will meet the new Minister of Health, Jonathan Coleman, in March 2015 to highlight issues and concerns in the breast cancer community and we need your input to help identify the key priorities.
This is your opportunity to have your voice heard so if you are aware of any issues or problems with the treatment and support of New Zealanders with breast cancer, please let us know so we can inform the Minister and offer workable solutions.
Following a successful campaign last year, Storage King throughout New Zealand is again supporting the Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition (BCAC) this October.
In 2013 Storage King in New Zealand teamed up with BCAC and raised more than $3000 for the charity organisation and this year stores across the country are aiming to do their bit once again.
Pink-themed Storage King stores throughout New Zealand will donate $1 from every tea chest storage box sold during the month of October to BCAC.
Beyond the pink ribbons, the TV advertisements encouraging early detection and the fundraising events to raise money for breast cancer are those, both women and men, who are living with metastatic breast cancer – advanced cancer which has spread through the body.
Medical professionals have labelled the latest results from a clinical study showing breast cancer drug Perjeta greatly extends lives as "extraordinary" and an "unprecedented success."
In the final analysis of the Phase III Cleopatra study, which was presented at the ESMO conference in Madrid last week, patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer who received the drug Perjeta lived 15.7 months longer than those in the control group. This was the longest time for a drug used as a treatment for metastatic breast cancer and may even be the longest survival time for the treatment of any advanced cancer, said researchers at the ESMO conference.
A recent Australian court ruling allowing US biotech company Myriad Genetics to continue to own the patent over the BRCA1 gene is not expected to have a significant impact on patients or research here in New Zealand, according to local experts.
The Australian breast cancer patient Yvonne D’Arcy, whom launched the original case in 2010 against Myriad Genetics, did so over fears of the potential rise in costs to cancer patients if genes are patented.
However, Senior Genetic Counsellor, Dr Alison McEwen of Genetic Health Service NZ, does not think the latest ruling will affect the cost or accessibility for cancer patients here in New Zealand.
Sweet Louise currently has 444 members, and since their launch in 2006, they have supported more than 1400 men and women with metastatic breast cancer. One of the key areas of focus this year has been family support.
Following a survey earlier this year, the Auckland bi-monthly Men's Group now have a speaker at each meeting, and this is appealing to more men supporting their family members with life threatening illness.
