We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded a Support Group Start-up Grant from Macmillan Cancer Support. This grant will help us reach more of our community and ensure that we can help as many people as possible.

Our support group started in June 2014 thanks to a grant from Croydon Council and it’s facilitated by a trained counsellor, Hazel Williams. The group provides an informal, friendly environment to connect with people who have been affected by cancer, share experiences and learn how to cope with a cancer diagnosis.

Our support group members have found the sessions to be very useful and have said the following about the group:

“The facilitator was very insightful and had a lot of meaningful things to say. She gave me a lot to think about.”

“The relaxation and mindfulness session was really useful.”

“I was feeling very down and really wasn’t going to attend but I am glad that the organisers called me and picked me up. I found the session to be very useful and I am so glad that I came.”

The group meets on the first Wednesday of the month from 4pm – 6pm at 3Space in Croydon. If you’d like more information about our support group or would like to attend please email us at info@thelakefoundation.com or call 07440 146 645.

We’d like to say a big thank you to Macmillan Cancer Support, we really appreciate their support and look forward to putting this grant to good use.

In this week’s blog, Abi Begho discusses her Walk to Work Week challenge.

Last week was Walk to Work Week and I got involved by walking part of my journey to and from work all last week. This was a great opportunity to get some much-needed exercise and I was amazed at just how much I was able to achieve by making some very simple changes to my journey to work.

I started off on Monday 11^th May. I was heading to central London and decided to substitute the 7-minute tram journey from Addiscombe to East Croydon train station with a lovely early morning walk.  This was a great way to start the morning, it took about 25 minutes, and along the way, I had the opportunity to see my neighbourhood in a whole new light; the lovely houses, the cute kids heading to nursery and the shopkeepers getting ready for a day of trading.  When I got to East Croydon Station a quick glance at my pedometer completely shocked me, I had racked up 3,977 steps! Whey hey!

During the rest of the day, I made a conscious effort to walk as much as I could so I walked to meetings, took a walk at lunchtime, walked up stairs and walked part of my journey back home. At the end of the day, a final glance at my pedometer informed me I had walked 12,087 steps! I was very pleased as the recommended number of steps we should take a day is 10,000.

The rest of the week was much the same although some days were not so good. I peaked at 15,173 steps on 12^th May due to a trip to Birmingham that saw me doing a lot of walking as I opted to walk between train stations and skipped the taxi journeys I would normally take and walked to and from my meeting. My low point was a terrible 3,268  steps on the last day of Walk to Work Week. On this day I was working close to home and because I was carrying my heavy laptop I jumped on the tram, but I did walk up 5 flights of stairs!

I really enjoyed my little Walk to Work Week experiment and I’ve decided to introduce more walking into my commute to work. I’ll be skipping the tram and walking to East Croydon station from now on. I’m going to force myself to do 10,000 steps a day.

This week doctors representing the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges have written an article in the BMJ about the problem of overdiagnosis which is where “individuals are diagnosed with conditions that will never cause symptoms or death”. The article explains that overdiagnosis is a direct result of the medical profession aiming to achieve early diagnosis but this drive to ensure that we diagnosis more diseases earlier means that in some situations we are creating more harm than good.  Another consequence of endeavouring to ensure an early diagnosis is that many doctors are using treatments where there is no evidence of clinical benefit, just so they are seen to be taking action. All of this means that in many patients are treated unnecessarily, resources are being wasted and we’re increasing patient anxiety, for no reason.

The issue of overdiagnosis has been recognised worldwide with the formation of Choosing Wisely in Canada and the USA which aims to advance dialogue on avoiding wasteful or unnecessary medical tests, treatments and procedures. The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges in the UK will be launching a UK Choosing Wisely programme and have put forward to following changes that need to take place if this type of programme is to be successful in addressing over diagnosis and overtreatment.

1. Doctors should provide patients with resources that increase their understanding about potential arms of interventions and help them accept that doing nothing can often be the best approach.
2. Patients should be encouraged to ask questions such as, “Do I really need this test or procedure? What are the risks? Are there simpler safer options? What happens if I do nothing?”
3. Medical schools should ensure that students develop a good understanding of risk alongside critical evaluation of the literature and transparent communication. Students should be taught about overuse of tests and interventions. Organisations responsible for postgraduate and continuing medical education should ensure that practising doctors receive the same education
4. Commissioners should consider a different payment incentive for doctors and hospitals.

The Lake Foundation is happy to see Choosing Wisely being introduced in the UK and we look forward to seeing this project develop over the next couple of years.

For more information read the BMJ article here

We’re so excited to once again team up with the Cycling Instructor with support from Croydon Council to provide free cycling sessions over the summer. This is a fun way to get fit and active and can be a journey of discovery of the beauty of south London as we cycle through the many hidden green spaces along route 21.

This group has been organised as part of our drive to improve the health and wellbeing of the black community and it aims to: provide members with the opportunity to learn how to cycle; provide tips on cycling technique; improve confidence in cycling; prepare attendees for road cycling; and introduce an enjoyable way for people to get some exercise.

Last year we had a great time with our sessions being led by very experienced and friendly instructors from the Cycling Instructor. Our favourite sessions were the off-road cycling sessions where we discovered beautiful locations like South Norwood Country Park, the Waterlink Way and Riverpool Linear Park.

We’ll be starting on 3^rd July at 6pm at Croydon Arena.  Please do get in touch if you’d like to join us. You can email events@thelakefoundation.com  to book your place and to find out more. Our leaflet below also provides more details.

Ovarian cancer can be a very challenging cancer to diagnose at an early stage because the symptoms are hard to recognise as they are similar to a number of non-serious conditions and have been described by many as “vague” and “non-specific” symptoms. Additionally, unlike breast cervical and bowel cancer there is no national screening programme for women because there currently isn’t a test that is accurate, specific and sensitive enough to be used as a national screening test.  This means that the majority of patients are diagnosed with late stage disease which is hard to treat.

This week scientists have published very encouraging data from a large 14-year study that shows that a test based on determining a woman’s CA125 (a protein found in the blood) profile is effective at detecting ovarian cancer. In fact it was found to identify 86% of ovarian cancers. This data could mean that we are one step closer to a screening test for ovarian cancer. The full data from the trial will be published at the end of the year and will tell us whether this test actually detects ovarian cancer early enough to save lives.

One of the lead investigators in this trial Prof Usha Menon said:

“These results are therefore very encouraging. They show that use of an early detection strategy based on an individual’s CA125 profile significantly improved cancer detection compared to what we’ve seen in previous screening trials.”

If the full results at the end of the year show that lives were actually saved through earlier detection of ovarian cancer, this will be one of the biggest breakthroughs in the detection of ovarian cancer and would for the first time enable a significant improvement in survival rates.

Friday is World Ovarian Cancer Day and this gives us the perfect opportunity to focus on a disease that gets very little attention.

In the UK, ovarian cancer is considered to be a rare cancer with 7,000 new cases diagnosed every year.  For those affected the statistics are unfairly bleak with only 43% of patients surviving for at least five years compared to 85% of breast cancer patients.  We can improve this by raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer and ensuring that women and healthcare professionals take quick action should they recognise the symptoms.

Increased awareness leads to more patients being diagnosed at an early stage and early diagnosis does save lives;  92% of women diagnosed at an early stage will go on to live beyond 5 years.

Black women are less likely to develop ovarian cancer than white women but data does suggest that black women are more likely to be diagnosed at a late stage so raising awareness in the black community is very important.

So, this World Ovarian Cancer Day join the global movement to raise awareness by pledging to tell five women about the symptoms of ovarian cancer.

To sign the pledge and get more information visit the World Ovarian Cancer Day website and for more information about ovarian cancer please visit Ovarian Cancer Action’s website.

May is National Walking Month and organisers, Living Streets, are encouraging the general public to get out of their car, get off public transport and walk everywhere in an effort to get more active this month.

You can get involved in this fun campaign by taking part in the many activities that are planned for this month such asWalk to School Week from 18^th to 22^nd May and Walk to Work Week from 11^th to 15^th May. They have lot of resources to get you started such as a carbon buster calculator, walking report cards, walking tips, posters, flyers and an events calendar. Visit their website for more information.

Get involved for a fun way to get some exercise and improve your health. #WalkThisMay!

We’re currently working on developing a fibroids booklet to address some of the issues that came out of our fibroids survey last year. From the survey we found that:

• There was a general low level of awareness of fibroids amongst participants prior to their diagnosis.
• There was a good level of awareness of the main symptoms of fibroids but a low level of awareness of other symptoms.
• Participants were aware that ethnicity was a risk factor for fibroids but less aware of other risk factors.
• 80% percent of participants stated that they needed information but only 53% said that this was available to them.
• 63% of women said they didn’t feel that they had enough information to make an informed decision about their treatment

In addition to the above some participants stated that their biggest challenge in managing their condition was the lack of information and conflicting information about fibroids. For example, one participant said, “there is not enough information, particularly with regards to surgery alternatives and diet changes.”

What our booklet will cover

Our booklet will provide much-needed information on all aspects of fibroids. It will cover the symptoms of fibroids allowing women to quickly pick up on the possibility that they might have fibroids ensuring an early diagnosis which may mean less invasive treatment, the prevention of unnecessary pain and avoiding loss of fertility. It will also raise awareness of the risk factors and provide information on what changes women can make to their lifestyle to reduce their risk of developing fibroids and it will help women identify whether they are at a high risk of developing fibroids and therefore whether they should be more vigilant about recognizing symptoms and changing their lifestyle to reduce their risk. Finally, it will also cover treatment options so women are aware of what options are available to them.

We appreciate all those who have helped so far

We’re delighted to have had some excellent reviewers work with us. We would like to say a big thank you to Dr Nigel Hacking, Consultant Interventional Radiologist at Southampton University Hospital and Miss Rosol Hamid, Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist and Head of Women Services at Croydon University Hospital for providing very useful and helpful comments and suggestions.  Additionally we’d also like to thank The Brielle Agency for proofreading our work .

We need your help for the final review

Now we are looking for members of the public to read the final draft before it goes off to our wonderful designers, Adinqra, and provide us with feedback on what needs to be improved. If you’d like to help please contact us on info@thelakefoundation.com

An interesting two-week diet swap experiment has been carried out by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh showing the damage a Western diet can cause to our gut. This study recruited  20 volunteers from the USA and 20 from rural Africa and each group was asked to switch diets for two weeks. The African group were asked to eat more junk food (burgers and fries) whilst the American volunteers were asked to eat a low-fat, high-fibre diet. Even though the study was quite a short one the impact of the diet swap was quite significant with the American group showing less bowel inflammation while the African volunteer’s bowel health declined.

This was an interesting study demonstrating the power of our diet in affecting our health, and in this case our gut health and our  risk of developing bowel (colon) cancer with Dr Stephen O’Keefe, from the University of Pittsburgh, saying:

“In just two weeks, a change in diet from a Westernised composition to a traditional African high-fibre, low-fat diet reduced these biomarkers of cancer risk, indicating that it is likely never too late to modify the risk of colon cancer.”

Researchers from the University of Sheffield have published data from the Yorkshire Health Study which has found that obese people fall into one of six categories and to address obesity strategies should be tailored according to which group a person falls into.

The six obesity groups were identified as: young males who were heavy drinkers, middle aged individuals who were unhappy and anxious, older people who despite living with physical health conditions were happy, younger healthy females, older affluent healthy adults, and individuals with very poor health.

The lead researcher for this study, Dr Mark Green said:

“Our research showed that those in the groups that we identified are likely to need very different services, and will respond very differently to different health promotion policies.

“In the future, we hope that GPs will keep in mind these six groups when offering advice to their patients.”
Researchers explained that what would need to be done to address obesity in the different groups would be to encourage alcohol reduction in young males, while for middle aged individuals who are unhappy and anxious an intervention involving increasing exercise mixed with psycho-social counselling could be beneficial. Young healthy females may not need any intervention, researchers said, as their health problems would be corrected naturally on their own. For those in the poorest health group the study showed advice surrounding exercise may not be reasonable and much more modest goals may be needed. For the affluent healthy elderly weight loss could be a priority.

This study is useful as it helps us understand specific, effective steps that can be taken to tackle obesity.