Thank you for all those who attended. It was also nice to meet some new attendees: There was no guest speaker tonight so there was a general chat and discussion between members. New members shared their experiences and where they were on the treatment path. It was interesting to hear the different forms of treatment compared to some members who had their treatment some years ago. It was agreed that it would be helpful to have a guest speaker from the Peterborough City Hospital either one of the consultants or a clinical nurse to talk about advances/changes in treatment. The co-ordinator will action this.
Breast Cancer in the News this Month both national and local: Some of you may have read/heard in the news about oral contraceptives and the risk of breast cancer. There was an interesting article in the Guardian ( see below from Thu 23 Mar 2023)
Should I worry about the cancer risk from hormonal contraceptives? While these drugs do carry a greater breast cancer risk, those chances are very small for people under 40.
Andrew Gregory Health editor (link to article) @andrewgregory
Any type of hormonal contraceptive may increase the risk of breast cancer, research from the University of Oxford has suggested. Although experts have stressed that this should not discourage people from taking the pill, the findings have prompted questions. How concerned should people be?
The message is if you have concerns you should speak to your GP.
Peterborough City Hospital was also in the news after it was announced that Northwest Anglia NHS Foundation Trust is among five NHS trusts set to share in £123 million to use artificial intelligence (AI) to speed up breast cancer diagnosis. The pioneering project will support pathologies by providing AI based tools and insights that help detect and grade different types of breast cancer.
Referral/Information about the Support Group: It has been raised by a couple of new members that information about the Support Group was given quite late in their treatment, when they felt it would they would have benefited from an earlier referral. Not everyone appears to get a copy of our leaflet in their packs from the hospital. A batch of new leaflets has been printed and will be dropped into the Breast Unit and also to the Robert Horrell Centre. The Clinic will be asked how else the Group can be publicised within the hospital.Next Meeting: 6th April 2023 – general meeting and catchup.
Read more on March’s meeting here: March Newsletter
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