On these pages you can check out the latest breast cancer news from BCAC and our member groups. We also provide up-to-date information and links to current breast cancer research and clinical trials. Read latest stories below, or use the filters or the pager below for other stories. Use the form to the right of this to subscribe to our e-News.
The risk of developing breast cancer-related lymphoedema is associated with a range of factors, not just axillary (armpit) node surgery as is widely believed, a new study reveals.
Lymphoedema is a well-known side effect in women who’ve received treatment for breast cancer. It results in a swelling of the arm and chest area and is often associated with surgery to remove lymph nodes from under the arm.
New guidelines have been published to give breast cancer patients evidence-based advice on the most worthwhile and helpful complementary therapies.
Complementary medicine is intended to be used in conjunction with (not instead of) standard medical cancer treatments and includes techniques such as meditation, acupuncture, herbal medicine, massage, support groups, and yoga. Research shows that up to 80 per cent of breast cancer patients use some form of complementary therapy.
New research has found that random and unpredictable DNA copying “mistakes” are responsible for nearly two-thirds of the mutations that cause cancer.
This means “environmental” influences, such as nutrition and exercise, play less of a role in many cancer cases than previously thought.
New guidelines in the UK recommend that healthy post-menopausal women with a familial risk of developing breast cancer be prescribed the medicine anastrazole in a bid to help ward off the disease.
The recommendation comes from the UK’s drug regulator, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which has just updated its familial breast cancer guidelines.
Eating foods rich in isoflavones, which are found in soy products, could help to reduce the death rate in women with certain types of breast cancer.
A new study, published in the journal Cancer, found that isoflavones are associated with lower death rates in women with hormone-receptor-negative breast cancer and those who are not receiving endocrine therapy.
New results from a major clinical trial testing the breakthrough breast cancer drug, Perjeta, show that it helped women with early HER-2 Positive breast cancer live longer.
Headline results from the Phase III APHINITY trial have just been released by the pharmaceutical company Roche.
Breast cancer patients with dense breasts are twice as likely to develop cancer in the other breast, according to new research.
The study, published in the journal Cancer, is one of the first to describe the association between breast density and the risk of cancer in the non-cancerous or contralateral breast.
Two of the country’s major breast cancer charities have joined forces to plead for the 160 women denied public access to the breakthrough breast cancer drug, Perjeta.
The Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition (BCAC) and the NZ Breast Cancer Foundation (NZBCF) are calling on Pharmac to extend funding for Perjeta to women already being treated with Herceptin.
The latest in new and innovative breast cancer treatments and recent developments to empower patients were discussed at the Australia New Zealand Breast Cancer Clinical Trials Group (ANZBCTG) conference in Australia.
Five BCAC committee members attended the conference which focused on the theme Partners for Progress in Breast Cancer Research and Care.
The Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition (BCAC) is thrilled that New Zealand women with advanced breast cancer will finally be able to get the breakthrough breast cancer drug Perjeta from next year, but is bitterly disappointed that a large number will be denied access to this potentially life-extending medicine.