Posted in Cancer Treatments

Lymphoedema is a chronic condition where there is an excessive build-up of protein rich fluid in a part of the lymphatic system, which causes localised swelling. Lymphoedema can occur as a result of cancer treatment where lymph nodes that are normally responsible for filtering the lymph fluid are either removed by surgery or affected by the use of radiation therapy. Approximately 20% of patients treated for breast, melanoma, gynaecological or prostate cancer will develop secondary lymphoe...

Dear MIOG Community. Well there goes another week where the themes are physical distancing, anxiety and uncertainty. It can be very stressful time for oncology patients, especially with treatment - induced immune effects and changes to your current treatment plans and options.  The results of efforts are looking promising, and the distancing measures are succeeding at "flattening the curve". We are, however, still at the beginning of a long road ahead. Ipatien encourage e...

My story is one of love, loss and transformation. It began four years ago with my husband's suicide.
I responded to his death the only way I knew how: I was stoic and resilient. After taking a couple of months off work, I went back to my executive role. I went back to competitive running. I saw a counsellor each Wednesday to "schedule" my grief, but otherwise soldiered on with life and thought I was coping really well.
Two and a half years later, in November 2018, I found a...

Cancer pain affects most people at some stage of their cancer treatment. It can be very debilitating, and it can cause problems with sleep, day to day functioning, exercise, mental health and relationships. There are a number of ways to manage pain, and like most things cancer-related, they work best in a larger treatment plan that is centred on the patient as an individual.   Does it work? Studies have shown that acupuncture can significantly reduce cancer-related pain, particul...

Of all the side effects of cancer treatment, some expected, some unexpected, cancer related fatigue is the most common and the most debilitating.   What is cancer related fatigue? Cancer related fatigue (CRF) is a persistent lack of energy that is not significantly improved by sleep, and is not due to over exertion. CRF feels different to a tiredness you might feel at the end of a long day that is restored with a good nights' sleep. CRF can make it difficult to cope with the ...

When someone is diagnosed with breast cancer, they undergo a biopsy during which 3 receptivity markers are tested: ER (oestrogen), PR (progesterone) and HER2 (human epidermal growth factor). Each of these can be positive or negative, suggesting whether cancer cells are receptive to these hormones. This defines the type of breast cancer present. Most common types of breast cancer are: ER/PR+ve HER2 -ve (70-80%) ER/PR-ve HER2 +ve (20%) Triple negative (meaning all the three above...