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Three Maori women have broken their silence and shared their personal stories of breast cancer diagnosis, treatment and recovery in the hope that they can encourage more Maori women to go for breast screening which could save their lives.
The ‘Women to Women’ DVD was launched at Te Manukanuka o Hoturoa Marae (Auckland Airport Marae) in April.
The DVD was developed by the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation (NZBCF) with the support of Tainui Mapo and Maori health promoters in Manukau and is titled ‘Women to Women: Our Ups and Downs’ (Wahine kit e wahine Nga Piki Nga Heke).
“Welcome to my Blog. My name is Susan and I am going to write about my first chemotherapy experience with Taxol.”
When Sweet Louise Member ‘Susan’ approached Support Coordinator Sinda Hall to see if Sweet Louise would host her blog on the website, the answer was a resounding ‘Yes!’
“We were very keen to feature Susan’s blog,” said Sinda. “Her personal story, shared with helpful tips and told with irrepressible humour, is a fantastic resource not only for Sweet Louise members but for all women with a breast cancer diagnosis.”
The Boobop Dragon Boat Club was formed in 2003 and hit the water to compete as a mixed team in 2004. This is the first season the team has been 100% breast cancer survivors and they have had an amazing season. To win two titles at the Nationals was a fitting season ending for a very dedicated coach, manager and paddlers.
There is amazing camaraderie throughout the team and they are all passionate about dragon boating. The Boobops team continue to socialise once a month throughout the off season including;
• an April Fishing Frenzy
• a May sleepover at the Mount after a fun paddle
• a June luncheon for wonderful Bernadette
• a Mid Winter Xmas in July
It seemed like it had only just begun, then before they knew it the Pink Dragons were collecting their medals at the Nationals in Rotorua! They have had a great year with many highs along the way but the season’s highlight was their overseas trip to Sydney and taking part in the Dragons Abreast Regatta in Darling Harbour.
Whilst the dragon boat season may have come to an end, paddling is still an option for team members as Polar Bears training is now up and running each Sunday morning, currently being held on Lake Pupuke. This training offers paddlers the opportunity to maintain their paddling fitness throughout the winter months.
A novel cancer drug designed by scientists from The University of Auckland and the Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to enter clinical trials.
Pathway Therapeutics Inc, a University of Auckland spin-out company, has also secured an additional US $7.5 million in investment to undertake the Phase I clinical trials.
The drug, PWT33597, is a dual inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) alpha and mTOR, two key molecules implicated in cancer. It is the first agent with this biological profile to enter the clinic trials phase.
BCAC applauds the recommendations of Parliament’s Health Select Committee to make it easier to conduct clinical trials in New Zealand.
The committee has been considering how New Zealand can improve innovation through clinical trials and released its report this week (08/06/11).
It made four key recommendations. These were to:
- simplify and streamline ethical review processes
- promote collaboration between Government departments to coordinate the system
- develop a national health research action plan to foster innovation and commercialisation
- develop a framework for clinical trial research throughout district health boards, to be facilitated by a hub.
The report will now be considered by the Government.
Millions of women facing an elevated risk for breast cancer could slash their chances of getting the widely feared malignancy by taking a hormone-blocking pill used to treat the disease or prevent a recurrence, researchers say.
A compound known as an aromatase inhibitor cuts the breast cancer risk by 65 per cent for women prone to the disease for any reason, such as having risky genes, a relative who had the disease or being older than age 60, a long-awaited international study of more than 4500 women has concluded.
BCAC is thrilled the government's drug buying agency, PHARMAC, is considering fully funding the chemotherapy medicine, docetaxel, for all types of breast cancer.
Currently, only some women with Her2-Positive breast cancer have access to funded docetaxel.
BCAC has long campaigned for docetaxel to be subsidised for all types of breast cancer and this has been supported by medical professionals through the Breast Cancer Special Interest Group of the New Zealand Association of Cancer Specialists (BSIG).
PHARMAC is now accepting submissions to fully fund the drug for all cancers. Submissions are due to the agency before 3 June 2011.
BCAC chair, Libby Burgess, says this latest development is great news for New Zealand women with breast cancer.
BCAC welcomes latest Government reports which show that 99 per cent of all cancer patients needing radiation therapy start treatment within four weeks.
Government figures for the third quarter of this year show that cancer patients in all DHBs received radiation treatment within six weeks and most received the treatment within four weeks.
BCAC chair, Libby Burgess, says shorter waiting times for radiation treatment are welcome relief for cancer patients and their families.
"It was only a few years ago that some patients were having to wait for months for radiation treatment and some were even being sent to Australia for radiation therapy," Libby says.
Weird title to a Breast Cancer story - right?
Gertrude was the name we gave to my cancerous breast - I had to keep my breast through chemo and radiation due to the nature of Inflammatory Breast Cancer - once it 'blew up' it no longer looked like my breast and I couldn't wait to get rid of it. Calling it Gertrude was a way of separating it from myself.
Get Out Gertrude is the name of a blog I started to tell my family and friends about my journey. Along the way it has also become the repository of all my thoughts and feelings as well. You can read more here http://getoutgertrude.wordpress.com
