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“As long as you are breathing, there is more that is right with you, than wrong with you.” – Jon Kabat Zinn
I was so sure the lump I found was nothing that I went to the hospital alone for my results. At 36, healthy, and a mum to a busy toddler, cancer was something that happened to other people—definitely not me. When the doctor said, ‘You have breast cancer,’ I actually laughed and said, ‘You’re joking'. It turns out breast cancer surgeons don't tend to joke about these things, and that I had a triple negative, grade 3 cancer that had reached my lymph nodes.
With 7 weeks training under our belts, Auckland’s Busting With Life headed to Lake Rotoroa, Hamilton to participate in the Waikato Dragon Boating and Waka Ama Association Super 12 regatta. This annual, out-of-region event is the first in the regatta calendar for the team. The regatta is always a fun day (in spite of the early start) and this year did not disappoint.
Though the weather on arrival brought back memories of a very wet, rainy event the year before (not helped by our leaky gazebo - which thankfully we have now replaced!), the sun did make its way out to give us a gorgeous day for paddling. The atmosphere was buzzing, the commentators awesome, and the organizers did a great job keeping the racing on time. Well done Waikato.
The Taranaki Dragons have been busy! Valda McBeth has posted this update:
Carol Coad was awarded Life Membership of Taranaki Dragons at our recent AGM. Carol has been an active, reliable and committed member since our Club was founded in 2008. Carol was our treasurer for 14 years.
Taranaki Dragons' annual Pink Walk and Paddle was held in early November. Although we had two boats out, we had to paddle in the basin which adjoins the Waitara River (our normal training venue) as the wind and river current was not safe for dragon boating. However, paddling in the basin meant that trainee sweeps had an opportunity to practice and our "newbies" enjoyed the gentle paddle. Shared (mostly pink) kai was enjoyed after the walk and paddle.
This international trial is looking at whether a new way of delivering lidocaine, a commonly used local anaesthetic drug, will help reduce the occurrence of moderate or severe chronic post-surgical pain for women undergoing breast cancer surgery. Nearly half of women who have breast cancer surgery experience some chronic pain after surgery and there is currently no best way to manage this.
Breast cancer is uncommon in men, but it does happen. About one per cent of all diagnosed cases of breast cancer in Aotearoa New Zealand will be in men, with around 25 men diagnosed each year.
Initial symptoms of breast cancer in men can include:
• a lump or lumpiness around your nipple
• a change in the shape of your nipple or breast area
• bleeding from the nipple
• pain in the nipple or pectoral area
• skin changes such as redness, rash, ulceration, puckering or dimpling
• a lump in your armpit.
One of the biggest challenges in any diagnosis, and treatment journey, is finding positivity during very worrying and difficult times. It’s easy to be afraid and get stuck in a negative spiral.
Being positive and thinking positively can help you cope with cancer, but it is natural to also feel upset and frightened sometimes. People with cancer are often encouraged to be positive. But it’s not always easy. It’s important to acknowledge there will be some very difficult days and allow ourselves to feel and express emotion.
If positivity doesn't feel right for you, or doesn't feel right in a specific situation, or on any given day, that's okay. Acknowledge how you’re feeling, allow it to be, and then think about some actions you might take to feel differently.
This is a Phase II open-label study to assess the efficacy and safety of camizestrant (a next-generation oral selective oestrogen receptor degrader - SERD) compared to standard endocrine therapy (aromatase inhibitor or tamoxifen) for patients with early ER-positive HER2-negative breast cancer and an intermediate-to-high or high risk of recurrence and who have completed definitive locoregional treatment and have no evidence of disease.
New Zealand sites for this trial will be Auckland, Waikato and Palmerston North.
Read more about this trial here.
7 November 2024
