 On Saturday 10 July, The New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation (NZBCF) along with the Australasian Society for Breast Disease and Auckland Breast Cancer Study Group presented a Consumer Forum in Auckland on breast cancer and survivorship in New Zealand.
The forum was held as part of the annual Australasian Society For Breast Disease Meeting.
The Foundation was delighted to sponsor the forum, as it is an integral part of The NZBCF's advocacy programme enabling it to take a more significant role in the health and wellbeing of New Zealand women.
Around 120 people, both men and women, attended the forum and heard from a range of experts about how well New Zealand is doing fighting the global health threat of breast cancer.
The forum was opened by Dr Jackie Blue, Member of Parliament, New Zealand's first breast physician and Health Select Committee representative.
The Chairs from the first session of the day were Libby Burgess, a scientist and Chair of the Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition. Her co-chair was breast surgeon Mrs. Belinda Scott who is also a member of the Medical Advisory Committee which advises The Foundation.
Mrs Scott was the first to present at the forum and discussed New Zealand and international breast cancer statistics, the latest research on risk factors and highlights of breast cancer news in 2010. She also presented a brief overview of thermography and mammography with mammography the preferred breast screening tool of The Cancer Society of New Zealand, The National Screening Unit, the New Zealand branch of The Royal Australiasian and New Zealand College of Radiologists and The NZBCF.
Psychologist Dr Geraldine Meechan was next to speak and discussed issues of survivorship for women after breast cancer treatment.
Following Dr Meechan was Dr David Hyams the Director of Surgical Oncology at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Southern California. He spoke about the latest developments in breast cancer surgery. His presentation included images of advances in breast conservation surgery and personalised medicine for breast cancer treatment. The women attending who had had breast cancer found this presentation highly compelling.
A discussion panel then followed, where the audience were encouraged to take advantage of the expertise on offer and asked lots of questions.
Following the morning tea, the second session was chaired by Dr Sally Urry, Clinical Director of BreastScreen Counties Manukau and lawyer and breast cancer survivor, Claire Ryan.
The first speaker in the second session was Radiologist Dr Barbara Hochstein who gave an update on how New Zealand is doing with screening.
She was followed by Professor Shaun Holt who presented the latest complementary therapies available for breast cancer treatment. Professor Holt was entertaining and informative in his condemnation of many types of complementary medicine but very supportive of others. He has just published a book on the subject, ‘Complementary Therapies for Cancer' published by Craig Potton Publishing.
Lymphoedoema Therapist and Breast Care Specialist Denise Flett then spoke about the lymphoedema issues in New Zealand and the development of the New Zealand Lymphoedema website.
The final speaker of the forum was Specialist Pathologist & Chair of the Auckland Breast Cancer Study Group, Dr Reena Ramsaroop who gave an update on the Auckland Breast Cancer Patient Register and reviewed the data that had been gathered over the past eight years.
The forum concluded with a most interesting panel discussion and a question and answer session.
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