Photo Credit: Brendan Lynch (Torontoist)
Well, Rethink Breast Cancer is known for thinking differently in our approach to the breast cancer cause and last night was no exception as the vibe at our Live Laugh Learn session oscillated between “go cancer research” and “Go Canada!”
Around 25 young women with breast cancer gathered at the lululemon at Yonge and Eglington in Toronto to hear about and discuss the newest research and treatment options with Dr. Danny Robson. When we booked the date months ago, we didn’t think about the closing night of the Olympics. We certainly didn’t foresee that it would coincide with Canada beating the U.S. in (nail-biting) overtime to capture the men's hockey gold medal! As we sat quietly on the edges of our seats at lululemon, listening intently to Dr. Robson, horns blared outside and revelers banged on the windows, baffled that we weren’t out on the street partying too. Our “Live Laugh Learners” all had Olympic fever too but a diagnosis of breast cancer + face time with a top oncologist trumps it. The fact that we had good turnout despite coinciding with the gold medal hockey game and that the women mobbed Dr. Robson after he spoke (i.e. were in no hurry to leave) tells you how much they value the opportunity.
Dr. Robson opened by discussing oncogene testing, which helps identify patients with breast cancer who will likely benefit from chemotherapy and those who won’t. The test is currently commercially available (i.e. it is not covered), and studies have shown that it can predict the aggressiveness of the patient’s tumor and the relative risk of disease recurrence following surgery and can help identify breast cancer patients who would benefit most from chemotherapy. This type of testing can help prevent “over-treatment” of breast cancer. Dr. Robson talked about the European approach to breast cancer treatment, which involves giving much less chemotherapy. I think our instinct, especially as young women, is to want aggressive treatment, just to be sure. However, dealing with side-effects like menopause, fertility loss, vaginal dryness, bone loss, joint pain and chemo-brain are nothing to sneeze at if the chemo was not really necessary. Dr. Robson also discussed recent studies that are reporting evidence that an intravenous bisphosphonate might have a direct anticancer effect on breast tumors. Bisphosphonates are medicines that help prevent bone loss and make bones stronger. Previous studies found a strong association between taking oral (pills taken by mouth) bisphosphonates and a lower risk of developing breast cancer. There should be new information on the effect of intravenous bisphosphonates and breast cancer tumors by the end of this year. Dr. Robson also touched on studies that show the diabetes drug metformin as being a potential breast cancer treatment aid. Much more research is needed before doctors will figure out if metformin might be part of a breast cancer treatment plan but we will keep our ears to the ground.
Dr. Robson stayed for over an hour afterward the official discussion handling questions and discussing with women one-on-one. Thank you Dr. Robson!! One woman came up to me as I was leaving and said “I got such great information! Two other women here are in a very similar situation as me and it was so great to talk to them.” She looked truly happy and relieved. Another came up and said “thank you so much for creating this (program) – there’s such a need. There’s nothing like this anywhere else.” I told her it’s actually women like her that make the program possible and thanked her for coming and contributing to discussion.
As always (or often), I’m asking for your help spreading word about the community we are building up for young women. If you’re a young woman with breast cancer, please get in touch with Rethink Breast Cancer – we need your help and participation to better help other young women with breast cancer.
All in all, despite having to compete with some major street noise, we had a great Live Laugh Learn session. I was excited to hear that new and better ways to treat breast cancer are in development. I left the gathering with a few research advances to cheer about along with Canada’s gold medal bonanza!
Best, MJ
MJ DeCoteau, Executive DirectorAround 25 young women with breast cancer gathered at the lululemon at Yonge and Eglington in Toronto to hear about and discuss the newest research and treatment options with Dr. Danny Robson. When we booked the date months ago, we didn’t think about the closing night of the Olympics. We certainly didn’t foresee that it would coincide with Canada beating the U.S. in (nail-biting) overtime to capture the men's hockey gold medal! As we sat quietly on the edges of our seats at lululemon, listening intently to Dr. Robson, horns blared outside and revelers banged on the windows, baffled that we weren’t out on the street partying too. Our “Live Laugh Learners” all had Olympic fever too but a diagnosis of breast cancer + face time with a top oncologist trumps it. The fact that we had good turnout despite coinciding with the gold medal hockey game and that the women mobbed Dr. Robson after he spoke (i.e. were in no hurry to leave) tells you how much they value the opportunity.
Dr. Robson opened by discussing oncogene testing, which helps identify patients with breast cancer who will likely benefit from chemotherapy and those who won’t. The test is currently commercially available (i.e. it is not covered), and studies have shown that it can predict the aggressiveness of the patient’s tumor and the relative risk of disease recurrence following surgery and can help identify breast cancer patients who would benefit most from chemotherapy. This type of testing can help prevent “over-treatment” of breast cancer. Dr. Robson talked about the European approach to breast cancer treatment, which involves giving much less chemotherapy. I think our instinct, especially as young women, is to want aggressive treatment, just to be sure. However, dealing with side-effects like menopause, fertility loss, vaginal dryness, bone loss, joint pain and chemo-brain are nothing to sneeze at if the chemo was not really necessary. Dr. Robson also discussed recent studies that are reporting evidence that an intravenous bisphosphonate might have a direct anticancer effect on breast tumors. Bisphosphonates are medicines that help prevent bone loss and make bones stronger. Previous studies found a strong association between taking oral (pills taken by mouth) bisphosphonates and a lower risk of developing breast cancer. There should be new information on the effect of intravenous bisphosphonates and breast cancer tumors by the end of this year. Dr. Robson also touched on studies that show the diabetes drug metformin as being a potential breast cancer treatment aid. Much more research is needed before doctors will figure out if metformin might be part of a breast cancer treatment plan but we will keep our ears to the ground.
Dr. Robson stayed for over an hour afterward the official discussion handling questions and discussing with women one-on-one. Thank you Dr. Robson!! One woman came up to me as I was leaving and said “I got such great information! Two other women here are in a very similar situation as me and it was so great to talk to them.” She looked truly happy and relieved. Another came up and said “thank you so much for creating this (program) – there’s such a need. There’s nothing like this anywhere else.” I told her it’s actually women like her that make the program possible and thanked her for coming and contributing to discussion.
As always (or often), I’m asking for your help spreading word about the community we are building up for young women. If you’re a young woman with breast cancer, please get in touch with Rethink Breast Cancer – we need your help and participation to better help other young women with breast cancer.
All in all, despite having to compete with some major street noise, we had a great Live Laugh Learn session. I was excited to hear that new and better ways to treat breast cancer are in development. I left the gathering with a few research advances to cheer about along with Canada’s gold medal bonanza!
Best, MJ
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