Breast cancer podcast transcript
Kat: Hello, I'm Dr Kat Arney. Welcome to this special Cancer Research UK podcast, dedicated to breast cancer. We'll be finding out how some of our scientists are working to improve the effectiveness of treatment for the disease, and get the lowdown on breast awareness.
Nearly 850 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every week in the UK. That's around 44,000 a year, making it the most common cancer in the UK, if you don't include non-melanoma skin cancer. Although advances in detection and treatment mean that around eight out of ten women with breast cancer will survive for five years, more than 12,000 women lose their lives to the disease every year.
Cancer Research UK is the major funder of breast cancer research in the UK, spending around £22 million last year. This covers all aspects of research into the disease, from prevention to diagnosis, better treatments and improving the quality of life for women living with breast cancer.
Dr Jason Carroll recently set up his lab at the new Cambridge Research Institute. I spoke to him to find out how he's working to beat breast cancer.
We're trying to understand how oestrogen, the female hormone, can cause cancer to grow. We want to know how oestrogen can cause certain genes to get switched on that make cancers grow. About 70% of breast cancers have the oestrogen receptor, so the majority of them are driven to grow by oestrogen. We're trying to understand why that is, and we're also interested in using that information to understand why the drug tamoxifen works, and what happens when it stops working.
We're using the most sophisticated and cutting edge genomic technology, which means we can look at billions of bits of information at any one time. And we're boiling this information down to try and make sense of how these drugs work by looking at the whole genome rather than specific focus regions. I hope that the research will help us to discover the genes and proteins that are important in cancer – the genes that make oestrogen do what it does, and make tamoxifen do what it does.
We hope that this knowledge will help the development of smart drugs against these pathways to treat breast cancer. We're starting to get a handle on this right now – but before we can make these drugs, we need to know what to target.
Kat: Many breast cancers are discovered by women themselves, but what's the best way to check yourself? Here's Jean Slocombe, one of Cancer Research UK's cancer information nurses, to give us the lowdown.
Jean Slocombe
It's all about knowing your own breasts, and knowing what's different for you. You should check your breasts about once a month – if you do it too often you might not notice anything changing, but if you don't do it often enough you might miss something.
Women should be looking for any lumps or bumps, or anything thickening of the breast tissue. Look at your breasts in the mirror -has one become bigger than the other? Are they changign shape? Is there any dimpling? Has the nipple suddenly become inverted, or is there discharge? Look at the skin of the breast – occasionally that can reveal clues that something isn't quite right.
If you think that something is wrong, get along to your doctor as soon as you can. They will examine you and send you to a breast clinic if they think you need further tests. About nine of of ten breast lumps are not cancer. They can be lots of other things – and some people's breasts are just lumpy.
Men can get breast cancer too, but it's very rare. About 300 men are diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the UK. And men can help their partner with breast awareness too – they do say two heads are better than one!
Kat: Screening plays a vital role in picking up breast cancers early. In the UK, all women between 50 and 70 are regularly invited for a free mammogram, and women over 70 can ask to carry on with screening. In fact, in England breast screening is thought to save around 1,400 lives every year.
Barbara Powell was diagnosed with breast cancer after going along for a routine mammogram. I asked her to share her story.
Barbara Powell
I just went for my routine mammogram and a month later I was recalled, because there was a tiny spot that was suspicious. It turned out to be cancer, and I had an operation a month later. If I hadn't gone for screening I would never have known. I didn't feel a lump, I never felt ill, but it was just the right time to go.
My message to everyone is "please don't duck out of screening". Be smart, and be aware of your body. A lot of women are scared of examining their bodies because they're worried about what they might find, but please go for your mammograms.
The "Kylie Minogue effect" has meant that older women don't think they will get breast cancer, but the statistics show that the older you are, the greater your risk. For example, I'm 65, and my risk is about one in 30, and when it comes to 70, it's one in 11. If you have cancer in the family you can have mammograms at an earlier age, and you can ask for screening over the age of 70. The facilities are there, so you only have to ask.
Kat: If you want to find out more about any aspect of breast cancer, from signs and symptoms to treatments and the latest research, then have a look at our patient information website, CancerHelp UK.
And if you want to raise money for our vital research towards beating breast cancer, then there's loads of things you can do. Whether it's hosting a pink party, doing a sponsored walk or anything else you can imagine, find out how you can join together with us.
Finally, don't forget you can listen to the latest news from Cancer Research UK every month in our regular podcast. Thanks for listening, goodbye.
Credits:
- Presented and produced by Kat Arney
- Post-production by Henry Sowcroft
- Original music written and performed by Kat Arney and Henry Scowcroft
- With special thanks to all the participants
