Latest News
When a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer it is not only she who embarks on an unexpected and unwelcome journey – her partner will also inevitably experience their own challenging cancer journey.
During 2013 Breast Cancer Support (BCS) established a support group in Auckland for younger women. The group is for women aged 20 - 45 years who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. All are welcome and there is much fun, laughter and open sharing of experiences about what it's really like to be a young woman diagnosed with breast cancer.
Meetings are held on the fourth Monday of the month until November and a guest is often invited to speak about issues relevant to younger women with breast cancer. The next meeting will be on Monday July 28, 2014 at 7 pm.
Meetings are from 7 - 9pm and take place at Domain Lodge, The Cancer Society - Auckland Division, 1 Boyle Crescent, Grafton, Auckland.
The Louise Perkins Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of Jane Austin to the position of CEO of Sweet Louise, the Foundation's charitable arm providing support and services to New Zealand women and men living with secondary breast cancer.
It is with great sadness that BCAC farewells and pays tribute to Mangalika Mendis, one of the tremendously brave women who fought for full access to the breast cancer drug Herceptin.
Sadly, Mangalika died in Australia in July 2013, leaving behind her husband Ruchitha and daughter Medhavie.
BCAC chair, Libby Burgess, says Mangalika was a special person who fought hard to see New Zealand women receive a fully-funded treatment programme of 12 months of Herceptin.
Mangalika, a trained doctor, worked with BCAC from 2006 when Herceptin was not funded in New Zealand, despite the fact it had been shown to be hugely effective in treating women with HER2-Positive breast cancer.
It has been very exciting to track down Dr Elizabeth Iorns – a scientist who is conducting ground-breaking experiments in America to reduce the genetic transmission of BRCA – and realise that she grew up in New Zealand!
Dr Iorns (pictured right) has qualifications from around the world, including a PhD in cancer biology from the University of London. As the wife of a BRCA carrier, she now has a personal reason to invest time and money into researching this particular gene mutation.
She is currently overseeing experiments on mice to see if giving PARP inhibitor drugs to male BRCA carriers can prevent the transmission of the mutation in their sperm. If this proves effective, Dr Iorns will quickly move on to human trials.
This international early phase clinical trial, known as the FERGI trial, is testing a new oral chemotherapy drug called a PI3 kinase (PI3K) inhibitor. These drugs inhibit a protein called “PI3-kinase” that may be involved in the growth and spread of some cancers. This research examines the use of a PI3K inhibitor in combination with the hormonal treatment fulvestrant (given as an intramuscular injection).
The Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition says a new report which shows how little New Zealand spends on medicines is a wake-up call which should lead to a review of funding for pharmaceuticals.
The report from Medicines New Zealand shows that New Zealand ranks 31st out of 32 nations in the amount it spends on pharmaceuticals as a proportion of GDP. Only Mexico spends less on medicines than New Zealand.
This international early phase clinical trial is testing a new oral chemotherapy drug called a PI3 kinase (PI3K) inhibitor. These drugs inhibit a protein called “PI3-kinase” that may be involved in the growth and spread of some cancers. This research examines the use of a PI3K inhibitor in combination with the hormonal treatment fulvestrant (given as an intramuscular injection).
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among New Zealand women, with more than 2800 women diagnosed each year.
The best advice for women concerned about breast cancer is for women aged between 45 and 60 to be screened regularly as part of BreastScreen Aotearoa.
Most breast cancers occur by chance, with less than 5 percent attributable to the inheritance of a damaged or mutated gene.
In the mid-1990s two breast cancer genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, were identified. Rare mutations or variations of these genes, which occur in 0.5-1 percent of the population, increase the lifetime risk of breast and ovarian cancer to between 40 and 80 percent.
This clinical trial compares the order of treatments for women who have oestrogen and/or progesterone receptor positive breast cancer and need radiation treatment and hormone medication to control the breast cancer following surgery.
Some women with breast cancer need radiation therapy after surgery to help prevent the cancer recurring. Often hormone medication is also given to help control the cancer and lower the chance of it returning. The hormone medication may also help the radiotherapy prevent the cancer recurring in the breast area or nearby lymph nodes.
