From an excellent article by Thomas Goetz posted in Wired Magazine this month:

From an excellent article by Thomas Goetz posted in Wired Magazine this month:

Should Teri Smieja have preemptive surgery to protect against breast and ovarian cancers?

Teri Smieja
Portrait: Alexandra Compain-Tissier

Teri Smieja had a choice to make. A mother of two living in the small town of Ridgecrest, California, she learned in February 2009 that she has a much higher risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers than the typical American woman. And she needed to figure out what to do about it.

It had happened very fast. In late 2008, her aunt went on a trip to Israel. When she came back to the States, she explained to Smieja that Ashkenazi Jews like themselves were more likely to have mutations in two genes known as BRCA1 and BRCA2. Those mutations put women at a much higher risk for breast and ovarian cancers. Sixty percent of women who have mutations in one or both of the genes will develop breast cancer, and up to 40 percent will develop ovarian cancer. (The average American female has about a 12 percent risk of breast cancer, and a 1.4 percent chance of ovarian cancer.) For Smieja, who didn’t really identify as Jewish, this was all new. “I had never heard of Ashkenazi anything before,” she says, let alone BRCA genes. But she did know that ovarian cancer ran in her family — her grandmother had it, her aunt had it, her mother has it. “I always figured I had a higher chance of getting cancer,” she says, but she hadn’t known there was a way to measure that risk.

So Smieja took a genetic test and learned that she was positive for the BRCA1 mutation. That finding, combined with her family history, made it more than a possibility that she would develop breast or ovarian cancer — it became a likelihood. In a term that reflects the age we live in, women like Smieja are known as previvors — they don’t have a cancer yet, but they surely have something. The question now was what to do next. “I had this paper in my hand that said I have up to an 87 percent risk of getting cancer by age 70. And, of course, I started crying; I was really upset. But then it hit me: It didn’t say I had cancer; it said I could get cancer. So I said, ‘Stop feeling sorry for yourself. This is good news. I can do something about this.’”

Slowly, her decision tree began to emerge. Estrogen promotes cell division in women and therefore spurs the proliferation of cancer cells. Since the ovaries produce most of the estrogen in the female body, it’s often recommended that women with an increased risk have their ovaries and uteruses removed. An oophorectomy and hysterectomy, then, not only brings the risk of ovarian cancer close to zero but also reduces the breast-cancer risk by about 50 percent. After spending a lot of time on the Internet and visiting a genetic counselor (”They said I did it wrong. I was supposed to go to the counselor first,” she recalls), Smieja decided to have the oophorectomy and hysterectomy.

As far as surgeries go, oophorectomy with hysterectomy is relatively straightforward and can be performed laparoscopically in just a few hours. One downside was that she wouldn’t be able to have any more children, but Smieja wasn’t planning to anyway.

The next choice facing her was whether to have a preemptive double mastectomy (also known as a bilateral prophylactic mastectomy). This one was more difficult. Some women with high risk opt for this procedure because estrogen receptors in the breasts make them susceptible to cancer. But it is a more traumatic procedure, both in terms of recovering from the wounds and for social and psychological reasons. (For Smieja, it meant she could no longer breast-feed her second child.) And while it would further reduce the risk of breast cancer — by about 90 percent — the benefits were not as pronounced as with the oophorectomy.

For Smieja, the decision was traumatic to navigate. But ultimately it came down to her desire to reduce her risk through all available means. That meant waiting a few months to wean her baby, then having the procedures. “I’m done with that decision,” she says. “This is what I need to do. I need to be around for my kids. I am not my ovaries. I am not my breasts.”

www.SeventyK.org

Our fellow supporters at the Teenage Cancer Trust will be hosting their 10th annual concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London from February through March. Tickets go on sale tomorrow, Feb 5th!!!
Here is a sneak preview:

Line up is confirmed, and supporting acts are yet to be announced.

Depeche Mode – supported by The Horrors

Wednesday 17 February – SOLD OUT
Depeche Mode have spent most of the year on their acclaimed worldwide ‘Sounds Of The Universe Tour’, which was one of the biggest of 2009 and sold over 2 million tickets in Europe alone.

Them Crooked Vultures

Monday 22 March
A rock supergroup that was formed in Los Angeles in 2009 by John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl and Josh Homme. The group also features Alain Johannes in live performances. The band began recording in July 2009, and performed their first gig on August 9, 2009 in Chicago, followed by a European debut on August 19. On October 1 the group embarked on a worldwide tour titled Deserve the Future with dates going into 2010.

Comedy night: Jimmy Carr, Noel Fielding and Rhod Gilbert

Tuesday 23 March
Jimmy Carr is one of the most original, well known and distinctive stars on television, radio and the stage.

Noel Fielding has written and appeared in three highly acclaimed series of The Mighty Boosh for BBC2 and BBC3 and a sell-out UK tour of the show.

Welsh comedy sensation Rhod Gilbert, one of the leading comedy talents in the country.

Suede

Wednesday 24 March
Brett Anderson, Mat Osman, Simon Gilbert, Richard Oakes and Neil Codling will regroup onstage for the first time in almost a decade to play an extraordinary one- off gig benefitting Teenage Cancer Trust. Brett Anderson said: “Everyone has been touched by cancer. Suede have supported cancer charities since 1993 when we donated the Mercury Prize money to cancer research. We’re delighted to be playing the Royal Albert Hall this year and helping the Teenage Cancer Trust.”

Noel Gallagher

Thursday 25 March and Friday 26 March
Noel is a long-time supporter of Teenage Cancer Trust, playing at the very first Royal Albert Hall show in 2000 alongside Roger Daltrey and appearing again in 2002, 2003 and 2007. In 2009 Noel released an exclusive collection of recordings from his standout acoustic performance for Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall on 27 March 2007. Titled ‘THE DREAMS WE HAVE AS CHILDREN’ (Live for Teenage Cancer Trust).

Arctic Monkeys

Saturday 27 March
Arctic Monkeys achieved chart success with their second single, I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor, which reached number one in the UK Singles Chart. Their debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, released in January 2006, became the fastest-selling debut album in British music history.

JLS

Sunday 28 March
JLS, Britain’s favourite new boyband in a generation, were runners-up in the fifth series of The X Factor. Aston Merrygold, Marvin Humes, Jonathan “JB” Gill, and Oritsé Williams signed to Epic Records at the beginning of 2009 and enjoyed continued chart success throughout the year.

The Specials

Monday 29 March
An English two-tone ska revival band which was formed in 1977. Featuring songwriter/keyboardist Jerry Dammers, Terry Hall on vocals, Lynval Golding on guitar and vocals as well as a rhythm section, the band helped pave the way for groups such as Madness and The Selector. The band achieved two number ones with Ghost Town and Too Much Too Young and after seven consecutive UK Top 10 singles between 1979 and 1981, the band broke up.

The Who

Tuesday 30 March
Wrapping up the 10-night spectacular in style with a performance of Quadrophenia. Roger Daltrey CBE, Patron of Teenage Cancer Trust said: “When The Who first got together in 2000 to raise money for this brilliant charity, I had no idea we’d achieve so much from these shows. In the last ten years we’ve raised over £8.7 million and counting. Teenage Cancer Trust has come such a long way since our first gig and I’m extremely proud of this event.”

For more information check out: http://www.teenagecancertrust.org/what-we-do/royal-albert-hall/2010/

According to the World Health Organization, today is World Cancer Day.

Cancer is a leading cause of death around the world. WHO estimates that 84 million people will die of cancer between 2005 and 2015 without intervention.

Each year on 4 February, WHO supports International Union Against Cancer to promote ways to ease the global burden of cancer. Preventing cancer and raising quality of life for cancer patients are recurring themes.

This year’s theme, “Cancer can be prevented too”, focusses on simple measures to prevent cancer such as:

• no tobacco use
• a healthy diet and regular exercise
• limited alcohol use
• protection against cancer-causing infections.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/annual/world_cancer_day/en/index.html

On Tuesday January 5^th, the band Rev Theory worked with SeventyK to hold an acoustic rock concert for adolescent and young adult cancer patients, friends, families and advocates. Rev Theory will be creating a nonprofit foundation to dedicate their time promoting different causes. Rev theory is “rocking cancer” by celebrating and supporting different cancer organizations, and we are thrilled to announce that SeventyK will be the first group they support!!! Rev Theory also put together a team to film a PSA, which will highlight the issues surrounding AYAs.

One of the songs on their album, Broken Bones, is special to the band as it was written after they lost someone close to them to cancer. The song really inspires hope in the midst of tragedy and is a ballad that really expresses a lot behind the Rock Cancer campaign.

We hope you enjoy the pictures from the event, and we will keep you updated on our work with Rev Theory!

Sincerely,
The SeventyK Team

The band arrive in a Gibson tour bus!

The band meets Dr. Leonard Sender

Rev Theory

Interviewing some other great patients!Rev posing with extreme survivor David!