As a small charity with limited resources communications and PR can be a challenge, but it is important.  We completely understand the power of an effective communication and PR strategy in helping us reach our community with key health messages particularly around cancer and fibroids, our two main focus areas at the moment. With this in mind when we heard about Find a Cure’s workshop on ‘Communications and PR for Small Patient Groups’ we jumped at the opportunity to attend.

This workshop was held today and didn’t disappoint. It was an excellent workshop with very useful presentations from experts in the field of communication. In the first presentation, delivered by Sorsha Roberts, Online Communications Officer at the AKU Society, we learnt of the importance of social media for patient groups. Sorsha highlighted the statistics around the use of social media stating that a significant number of people were using social media to find health information and that 90% of people who found health information on social media trusted it and would use it. Furthermore Facebook is the fourth trusted source of health information and this is because information is delivered in a way that is less clinical, it’s clear, easy to understand and it’s delivered in a friendly and informal environment.

We then moved on to our next speaker Stefania Rucci from  Say Communications who spoke about ‘Working with the media’. This was a very informative presentation where Stefania started with an overview of some of the challenges small charities face in getting noticed in the media. These challenges included: competition with other health messages, the media having its own agenda which may not align with a charity’s agenda and small charities have fewer resources making it hard to break through in the media.  Despite these challenges it is possible to mount a successful media campaign but it needs some planning and the adoption of some key principles. These include: developing a compelling a story; getting to know your media and aligning your agenda with theirs;  targeting media to ensure high impact and high relevance; positioning your organisation as the expert; and always being ready . Additionally Stefania said it was important to produce great content, understand your audience, understand the different types of media (specialist,  national papers, local papers, magazines, TV, radio, bloggers and social media) and tailor your content to fit different types of media, i.e. be able to tell your story in a different way so it appeals to different audiences.

We were recently asked about breast implants and mammograms and in today’s blog we thought we’d address this.

A mammogram is an X-ray that is used during the breast screening process to detect breast cancer at a very early stage and hence aims to give women with breast cancer the best chance of survival.  During a mammogram X-rays are passed through the breast in order to generate images (radiographs) of each breast. If a tumour, cyst or calcium deposits are present this will be detected as bright spots on the radiographs.

When a woman has a breast implant (breast augmentation/ enlargement), the implant is inserted between her breast tissue and chest muscle or behind her chest muscle.  The implant may make a mammogram less effective at detecting breast cancer as it prevents the X-rays from penetrating the tissue properly and hence distorts the image. This can be overcome by a slight modification in the way in which the mammogram is performed which will allow as much of the breast tissue as possible to be visualised by the x-ray.

If you are due for a mammogram and you have an implant please definitely attend your appointment but  let the breast screening clinic know  beforehand that you have an implant so they are prepared and can screen you appropriately.

If you have a breast implant because you have had a total mastectomy (i.e. both breasts removed) you won’t need a mammogram as all your breast tissue has been removed but following your breast cancer diagnosis and after treatment you will be monitored regularly. If you have had a mastectomy on just one side then you’ll need to have a mammogram of the breast that remains.

We hope this answers any questions you may have on this topic and if you have any more questions please do let us know by leaving a comment below.

In this week’s blog we speak to the very inspirational Adele Sewell.  Adele was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999 and in 2007 was faced with cancer again when she was diagonsed with ovarian cancer.

Adele tells us about her experience with both breast and ovarian cancer, what she has learnt from her experience and why she thinks the black community is hesitant to talk about cancer.

How was your breast cancer discovered?

My breast cancer diagnosis was quite straightforward. I found a lump in my breast, I went to my GP and was referred for a biopsy, a mammogram and an ultrasound. The mammogram and biopsy were both inconclusive but the ultrasound confirmed it was cancer. I was 35 years old at the time, fit and healthy with no apparent risk factors for breast cancer. I had surgery (a lumpectomy which just removed the cancer plus a margin around it to prevent spread or recurrence). A few lymph nodes were removed from under my arm and as no cancer was found in these I did not have to have chemotherapy, just radiotherapy. Radiotherapy was 3 times a week for 6 weeks. I have been lucky and 16 years later this cancer has not returned. Touch wood and fingers crossed!

How was your ovarian cancer discovered?

The ovarian cancer diagnosis was quite a different story and a rather long road from first symptoms to final diagnosis. It took about 18 months and several visits to my GP before I was finally diagnosed. As a result the cancer was a late stage diagnosis. The symptoms I had started in early 2006 and I was not diagnosed until Sep 2007. The symptoms included urinary frequency, vaginal discharge, sciatica, lower abdominal pain, bloating, constipation. Also other random symptoms such as hiccups and a pain when I pressed my belly button, loss of inches around my hips but gained inches around my belly. This is because while the cancer was causing me to effectively lose weight, accumulation of fluid in the stomach, called ascites was stretching my abdomen.

Do your doctors know why you developed both breast and ovarian cancer?

When the diagnosis of ovarian cancer came the doctors said that people don’t usually get two completely separate primary cancers unless there is genetic involvement. I spoke to a genetic counsellor and agreed to have the blood test which came back showing that I had a mutation in the BRCA2 gene which is supposed to repair damaged DNA and so prevent cancer. It turned out that I had inherited this from my father. BRCA mutations in men can cause male breast and prostate cancer and my Dad died of prostate cancer, as did his eldest brother. My Dad’s cousin died of ovarian cancer in February this year and two of her sisters have had breast cancer, as have my sisters. Two of my Dad’s aunts are also thought to have died of cancer.

What has been the most challenging aspect of your journey with cancer?

Being told that my life expectancy was less than 5 years. Being told immediately after completing treatment that there was a 70 to 90% chance that the ovarian cancer would come back…which it did in 2010 and required further surgery and chemotherapy.

What life-lessons have your learnt from your experience?

Learning that each person is an individual and therefore that statistics and prognosis information will differ from person to person. Learning that it is ok to be vulnerable and to admit that you have fears. Learning that there are a lot of kind and generous people in the world.

What advice would you give to anyone who has recently been diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer?

Don’t go on the Internet at 2am and search for ‘prognosis stage 3C ovarian cancer. Ask your consultant to tell you about people who have survived despite the odds.

We’ve noticed that the black community are hesitant to talk about cancer, why do think that is and how has talking about your experience helped you?

I have never met another black woman with ovarian cancer and I am sure that I am not the only one. I am not sure why black people are hesitant to talk about cancer. It is as though they are ashamed or embarrassed about it. I don’t know why that would be. I have found it really beneficial to talk to other women who have had breast and ovarian cancer. It is amazing to find that people who come from different walks of life, different ages and experiences find a common thread when they get together and share their experiences. It is very supportive to find others who feel the same way that you do.

Is there anything else you’d like to say to our readers?

I think the Lake Foundation Is a wonderful initiative which will be of great benefit to many. I am happy to still be alive, despite 3 cancer diagnoses, seven years after diagnosis with ovarian cancer and 16 years after diagnosis with breast cancer.

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We’d like to say a big thank you to Adele for speaking to us about her experience. If you have any questions or comments please leave them in the comments sections below and if you’ve been affected by cancer and need someone to talk to, come along to our cancer support group. For more information click here.

On Saturday, we were absolutely delighted to attend the MGC GCC Together We Rise awards ceremony which recognised the contribution of black women in Britain who are taking a leading role in enriching and progressing the black community. Our very own Abi Begho received an award for her contribution to the health and wellbeing field and after receiving her award, Abi said:

“I am so happy, honoured and grateful to have received this award and I would like to say a big thank you to the MGC and GCC for recognising the work I’ve been doing with The Lake Foundation. I would also like to say congratulations to all the inspiring award recipients. It’s so important to have an event like this that recognises the important contribution that black women are making in their community.”

This was an excellent, inspiring event which featured women from a variety of fields who spoke about their journey to success, what they learnt from it, the challenges they encountered and how they overcame them.

We applaud the MGC GCC for organising this event and highlighting the great work of black women in the UK.

Full list of awards:

Health
Abi Begho, The Lake Foundation
Rameri Moukam, PattiGift Therapy 

Education
Melanie Hibbert, Primary Learning Centre
Julietta Joseph, Afrika Bantu Saturday School
Afreya Adofo, Afrika Bantu Saturday School
Lorna King, New Mind School

Business
Sophia Bailey, Wealth Creation Mentor
Shirley Best, Rolanda Boutique

Music
OneNess Sankara, Spoken Word Artist
Janet Kay, the Queen of Lover’s Rock
Nyarai Kizzy, Singer and Song Writer

Arts and Culture
Patricia Foster, Creative Education Consultant and Poet

Natural Hair
DebRose Searchwell – Natural November

Media
Linda Graham, Isis Magazine

Activism
Kai Ouagadou-Mbandaka, Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement
Sister Lamisi
Sacha Brown, The Empress Movement

Lifetime Achievement Award
Alderwoman Cllr Gee Bernard

We are delighted to introduce you to our Founder, Abi Begho.  In the video below Abi tells us a bit about herself, our work and what inspired her to start The Lake Foundation.

Adopting a healthy lifestyle is hard and one of the biggest hurdles many of us face when attempting to turn to a healthy diet is…sugar (cane sugar). We love sugar, we put it in and on almost everything and of course there is hidden sugar, the sugar that has been unnecessarily added to many processed foods.

After years of being conditioned to depend on sugar many of us are addicted and this sugar addiction has created a number of health challenges with our love of sugar being linked to type two diabetes, cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke) and obesity.

Reducing our sugar consumption is tough and many of us have tried various strategies. These have included switching from white sugar to brown sugar because we mistakenly think it is healthier but white sugar and brown sugar are very similar, i.e. they provide no nutritional benefit, consist of sucrose and fructose and provide us with quick energy. White sugar is slightly more processed because it is bleached to achieve its colour and brown sugar contains molassess but the bottom line is that high consumption of both brown and white sugar is bad for our health and should be avoided.

Other strategies many employ to reduce their sugar intake include switching to other sweeteners like honey and synthetic sweeteners but again these are not ideal.  Honey is better than cane sugar in that it contains small amounts of vitamin C, vitamin B, calcium and iron (I stress SMALL amounts), it has a lower glycaemic (50 versus 64-68 for brown/white sugar) and so it doesn’t raise our blood glucose levels as fast as cane sugar and research has suggested it is good for our immune system . But, honey is 70-80% sugar and contains more calories than cane sugar so it has to be consumed in moderation. The advice from many nutritionists is that if you don’t have any underlying health issues (diabetes or any issues with your metabolism) then having honey occasionally is ok.

Synthetic sweeteners are also used by many as they have no calories and don’t adversely affect blood glucose levels. Whilst most synthetic sweeteners have been deemed safe by food regulators there are mixed feelings about these products. Early studies linked some sweeteners to cancer and other health conditions but these studies have been refuted with organisations like the National Cancer Institute and the Cancer Research UK stating that they pose no danger to our health. With this in mind use of these products is down to personal preference and how confident an individual feels about the long-term effects of synthetic sweeteners. It is a good option from the point of view of blood sugar levels and calories but if you’d  prefer to stay away from highly processed products then this is not a good option.

There are some newish natural alternatives such as agave nectar and stevia. Agave nectar  has a much lower glycaemic  index (GI is 15) than both white and brown sugar (GI ranges from 65-68) as well as honey (GI is 50), but there are concerns over its high fructose levels which can lead to insulin resistance, diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome. Therefore there are questions over whether the benefits of its low glycaemic index are cancelled out by its high fructose content (70-90%) so it’s probably best to avoid agave nectar altogether because as Dr Johnny Bowden has said “Agave syrup is basically high-fructose corn syrup masquerading as health food”

Stevia-based sweeteners are made from the stevia plant and contain no calories. Their sweetness comes from the presence of glycosides which are not stored in our body and are rapidly excreted.  Stevia-based sweeteners have a glycaemic index of zero and hence have no negative effectives on our blood sugar or insulin nor does it contribute to obesity and cardiovascular disease with researchers  writing in The Open Obesity Journal  that “Stevia leaf extract and their constituent phytonutrients promote caloric balance and can be beneficial components of a  healthy dietary lifestyle”

The main components of stevia-based sweeteners are stevia glycosides and safety tests have shown that they pose no harm to our health. There have been concerns over the long-term effects of whole-leaf and crude extracts of stevia, the misrepresentation of stevia-like products which are not stevia but highly refined stevia preparations and the additives that are included in some stevia products.  The recommendation is: if you are going to try stevia  do your research and opt for a high quality product.  A high quality stevia-based product appears to be one of the healthiest alternatives to sugar.

Finally, we’d like to talk about coconut palm sugar which we were recently introduced to at a health and wellbeing day by Mother Nature. Coconut palm sugar is made from the sap of the coconut. It is healthier than cane sugar due to its significantly lower glycaemic index (GI is 35 versus 64-68 for white/brown sugar). It also contains small amounts of fibre, zinc, iron, potassium, calcium, magnesium, vitamin C, short chain fatty acids, phytonutrients and antioxidants, but it does contain fairly high levels of fructose (35-45%). As mentioned previously high levels of fructose have been linked to diabetes, insulin resistance, obesity and metabolic syndrome. The levels of fructose in coconut palm sugar are lower than white sugar (50%) and agave nectar (70-90%) so in this respect it is also better than white sugar and agave nectar. If you need a sweetener and you’d like to have it from a source that is unprocessed then this is a better and  healthier alternative than white cane sugar, but should be consumed moderately due to its fructose content.

The take home message is we should really be avoiding sugar no matter what form it comes in due to its negative effect on our health. If we do need to sweeten the food we eat then a healthy option is using high quality stevia. Alternatively, if you have no underlying blood sugar problem you could occasionally opt for a good quality honey or coconut palm sugar.

Friday 20^th March is International Day of Happiness, a day that focuses on getting everyone to consider what we need to do to be genuinely happy and thus improve our mental wellbeing and live a fulfilling life.

The Lake Foundation believes this is an extremely important day which should be a time to reflect on the positive in a very negative climate.  We need to make it a priority to improve our mental wellbeing by finding a way and a reason to be happy. Research has shown that happiness and health are connected with happiness having a positive effect on our health. Additionally people with a positive (happy) outlook on life have a better outcome when  ill. So, there are health benefits to being happy.

What can we do to live a happier life? Based on research, Action for Happiness has put together ten things we can all do to live a happier and more fulfilling life and this is summarised in the diagram below.

This International Day of Happiness let’s commit to living a happy life by attempting follow these ten tips. A great way to start this is by getting involved in the #GlobalHappyParty. The UN Foundation and Pharrell Williams are inviting everyone to their Happy Party. We’ve taken part and you can too!  Let’s get the whole world dancing for a happy planet!

We are absolutely delighted to be featured in the debut edition of AFRO RETRO  magazine, which was officially published on 14th March 2015.

AFRO RETRO magazine aims to celebrate Afro-Caribbean and African culture with a view to enlightening future generations about the richness of African culture and history.  The magazine focuses primarily on showcasing black history, Afrocentric businesses and African writers, fashion designers and chefs.

We are honoured to be featured in the first edition of this excellent magazine and would like to thank the editors for giving us this opportunity to raise awareness of our work.

You can read the first edition of below.

On Saturday, we attended the Croydon Tabernacle Women’s Breakfast to deliver presentations on both breast cancer and fibroids.  This was a lovely event that brought together the women of Croydon Tabernacle to discuss important health issues over a delicious breakfast.

We were given a one hour slot to discuss two important health conditions. We started with breast cancer and gave attendees some background discussing what is cancer, what happens in breast cancer, the different types of breast cancer, stages, diagnosis, treatment, risk factors and current statistics.  Once we had set the scene with a bit of background we then provided attendees with information on what they can do to prevent breast cancer or ensure an early diagnosis. Here we focused on three areas, understanding the signs and symptoms, taking part in breast cancer screening and adopting a healthy lifestyle.  We finished the breast cancer session with a lively Q&A and then moved on to fibroids.

Wonderful programme. Very educational, informative and interesting. I learnt a lot – Bosola

For our fibroids session we covered what are fibroids, the types of fibroids, causes, risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, facts and figures and prevention. It was stressed that fibroids are not usually life-threatening but can be very painful and affect fertility. We discussed the importance of understanding the risk factors and symptoms and that if they have symptoms they should visit their doctor. Information was also given on the lifestyle changes that women can make to reduce their risk of developing fibroids – being more active and eating a healthy diet.  Furthermore we noted that fibroids are more common in black women and when black women develop fibroids they tend to be more aggressive, bigger, multiple and develop at a younger age than their white counterparts.

We finished off our presentation by stressing that if women are diagnosed with fibroids they should ensure they have enough information to make an informed decision about how they’d like to manage and treat their fibroids. Women were advised to speak to a gynaecologist who specialises in fibroids to get the best possible advice.

After our session, Pastor Yinka Ayeni gave an excellent, inspiring presentation on self-esteem.

We thoroughly enjoyed this event and would like to thank Croydon Tabernacle for inviting us to attend and for their very warm welcome.

March is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month in the UK giving us the perfect opportunity to focus some attention on a disease that gets very little attention. In this week’s blog we would like to share the key things that you need to know about ovarian cancer.

Ovarian Cancer is the 5^th most common cancer in the UK with 7,000 new cases diagnosed each year.  Unfortunately it is the biggest gynaecological killer with just under 4,300 women dying from ovarian cancer each year. Survival rates are pretty poor with only 43% of women surviving  beyond 5 years of their diagnosis compared to 85% of breast cancer patients.  There are many reasons why survival rates are so much lower than breast cancer.  It is a complex cancer which is extremely hard to diagnosis because the symptoms are vague and non-specific with over 50% of patients in the UK being diagnosed at a late stage making treatment challenging.

We can improve these bleak statistics by empowering women with the information that they need to take quick action. Increased awareness leads to early diagnosis and early diagnosis saves lives; over 90% of women diagnosed early will survive beyond 5 years compared to only 4-19% diagnosed at a late stage.

Being aware of the symptoms and acting quickly if you think you have them is thus very important.

There are four main symptoms of ovarian cancer and they are
· Persistent pelvic/tummy pain
· Persistent bloating
· Difficulty eating
· Needing to urinate more frequently

If you have any of these symptoms for more than 12 days per month, then visit your GP. It’s a good idea to make a diary of your symptoms in the days and weeks leading up to your appointment so you can have a really good discussion with your GP. The charity Ovarian Cancer Action provides an easy to use symptoms diary. Download this, complete it and take it with you to your appointment.

It’s also important to be aware of what increases your risk of developing ovarian cancer.  The two main factors that increase a person’s risk of developing ovarian cancer are: age and family history.

Age: As we get older our risk of developing ovarian cancer increases. The majority of ovarian cancers (80%) occur in women who are aged 50 and over. If you are in this age group it’s important that you are aware of the symptoms and visit your doctor promptly if you have any concerns.

Family History/Genetics:  10-20% of ovarian cancers are hereditary. If you have two or more family members who have been affected by breast and/or ovarian cancer then you might be at a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer.

If you have a family history of ovarian cancer, visit your doctor to discuss your risk and for more information about hereditary cancer please read our recent blog post.