September 2007 podcast transcript

Kat: Hello, I'm Dr Kat Arney. In this month's action-packed podcast we'll be pulling on our trainers to run 10K, clearing out our wardrobes, and hunting down genes that can lead to cancer. But first, here's the news, with Josephine Querido.

Josephine: Drinking a daily pint of beer or a large glass of wine increases your risk of bowel cancer by around 10 per cent, according to new research part-funded by Cancer Research UK. The results are from a study called EPIC – the largest study of diet and cancer ever undertaken, involving half a million people in ten European countries.

The researchers found that people who drink two units a day have about a 10 per cent increased risk of bowel cancer.

Although this increase is relatively small, the risk goes up the more you drink. For example, those who drank twice as much increased their bowel cancer risk by around 25 per cent.

Previous studies have shown that alcohol consumption is linked to other types of cancer, including mouth cancer, and cancers of the foodpipe, liver, throat and larynx.

Hazel Nunn, Senior Health Information Officer, explains more.

"Alcohol is linked to a number of different types of cancer, and the more you drink the more your risk increases. Our advice would be to cut down, and with every bit that you cut down, you’ll be reducing your risk that extra part."

Josephine: A trial funded by Cancer Research UK and the NHS has found that a computer programme can help GPs to advise people who are concerned about their family risk of breast or bowel cancer.

The programme combines existing data on cancer risks with information given by the patient on their family history of cancer to estimate their overall risk.

The trial involved 45 GP practices in East Anglia. Researchers found that GPs were more effective at referring patients with a family history of breast or bowel cancer when they used the software.

Patients referred by this system also said they felt less anxious about their risk of cancer than those patients referred through current methods.

And finally, Cancer Research UK's Cancer Information nurses have a new freephone number, so more people can benefit from information and support. Every year, the nurses answer more than 10,000 enquiries from people affected by cancer, including people with cancer and their carers.

The new freephone number is 0808 800 4040.

Martin Ledwick, head of the nurse team, explains why they've made the change.

"Not many people realise that a lot of the old 0800 freephone numbers aren't actually accessible free of charge to mobile phones. We know that the people who call us think it’s really important they can all us in a time and place where they can talk in private – often they’re discussing quite personal issues with us.

With our new freephone number, a lot of the mobile phone companies have signed up to provide this service free of charge as well. The number is 0808 800 4040, and that’ll be free from landlines and a lot of mobile phone companies. And it's a lot easier to remember than the old one!"

Kat: And if you want find out more about these stories, or get the latest from the charity's scientists, and researchers around the world, then have a look at our News & Resources website.

If you fancy doing something active and raising money for Cancer Research UK at the same time, then you might be interested in one of our 10 kilometre runs, taking place at more than thirty beautiful venues across the UK this Autumn. I got my trainers on to chase down some more information.

10K package Kat meets Kim, who is doing the 10K run at Hampton Court this year. She has been going to the gym, but needs to do some running outside. She’s always wanted to do a 10K - it’s good exercise and a great cause.

Suzie Marchbanks is on the Cancer Research UK 10K organising team. The runs are open to men and women, and this year we're hoping to get 36,000 runners. The first events are on the 2nd of September. You can enter on the website - it's really easy, and takes about 5 minutes to enter, costing £17.50 per runner.

We're hoping to raise ££.6 million pounds this year towards our research. You can raise sponsorship in a range of ways – through an online form, or a paper form. The entry fee only covers the cost of the event, so it's really crucial that people raise sponsorship while they're running.

10K isn't such a long way – you don't have to run the whole way. There will be loads of people who haven't done one before, and the atmosphere on the day is great. So just do it!

Kat: So if you're up for a bit of exercise, and a great way to raise money for our work, then go and have a look at the website.

We often hear in the news that scientists have found 'a new gene for cancer'. But how do they find them? With 20 to 30 thousand genes in our genomes, it's a tricky task - but new technology and more detailed information about the letters that make up our genetic code are helping us to track them down.

Research funded in part by Cancer Research UK has recently led to the discovery of new genes for breast cancer and bowel cancer. Although it'll be some years before knowledge of these genes can be turned into tests or treatments, finding out where they are helps scientists focus their research for the future.

Professor Bruce Ponder is the Director of the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute, and he started by telling Anna Lacey how the first step to finding cancer genes is to look in families.

Genes and cancer package by Anna Lacey

Professor Bruce Ponder explains that there are families with many cases of the same cancer in the family, such as breast or ovarian cancer. These only account for around 5% of breast cancers, and they're due to a single gene having a strong effect. But most inherited predisposition is due to the combined effect of normal variations in our genes. So we need to find which variations are commoner in women with breast cancer, compared to those who don't have it.

We look for these using SNPs ("snips") – single nucleotide polymorphisms. These are single changes of one letter in the genetic code – most of the time these changes don't matter, but sometimes they have a critical effect, and can increase the risk of cancer. So we would look for how common certain SNPs are in thousands of women with breast cancer, and compare them with thousands of women without breast cancer. and if we find that this SNP is commoner ion the women with cancer than in those who haven't, then we can infer that this SNP has something to do with breast cancer susceptibility.

Even if people have some of these variations, it doesn't necessarily mean that cancer will develop. In fact, around two-thirds of cancers are due to factors in our environment and lifestyle. In the case of "strong" breast cancer genes, that cause cancers to run in families, if a woman has a fault in one of those, then she may have a 50-80% chance of developing breast cancer. Talking about common variants, each individual variant will increase your risk by a tiny amount, but the combination is important – the hand of genetic cards you’re dealt at birth.

This means there is a distribution of risk in the population. Some women are at high risk, while some are at low risk and some are in between. By searching for new genes we can find out more about how cancers develop, which could give us new clues for how to treat the disease. And we also might be able to find people in the population who are more at risk of cancer, and target screening or prevention programmes to those who really need it.

Kat: Now that summer seems to have passed us by – if you could call it a summer – you may be looking at your wardrobe and thinking about making some space for winter clothes. Well, help could be at hand to help you declutter. Cancer Research UK has teamed up with menswear shop Burtons to run a campaign called "Don't need it? Donate it!" I spoke to Burton's Brand Director, Wesley Taylor, to find out more.

Wesley Taylor "Don't need it? Donate it" is a fantastic campaign through which we are urging our customers, along with the general public to re-fresh their wardrobes, by donating any unwanted clothes and accessories to Cancer Research UK shops. As a way of saying thank-you, anyone who drops of bags of donated goods during the campaign will be given a money-off voucher off their next purchase at Burton.

Between the 14th and 30th of September, Burton stores will be handing out especially designed donation bags. We will be encouraging our staff and customers to take these home, and then to have a look at what clothes they no longer need. Aside from good quality clothes, Cancer Research UK is also looking for fashion accessories, as well as CDs and homewares. So it's a great opportunity to de-clutter your house.

Whilst we have the official campaign bags, Cancer Research UK will accept donations in any type of bags, including black sacks. So we will really be encouraging our customers to have a good old clear-out.

Then, all you have to do is drop off your unwanted clothes at any Cancer Research UK shop, where you will be rewarded with a voucher entitling youto £5 off their next purchase of £25 or more at Burton.

To find your nearest Cancer Research UK shop, you can either ask at your local Burton store, or use the store locator on the website.

Our target is to raise the equivalent of £250,000 in donated stock through the campaign. Did you know that the average bag of clothes and accessories you donate to a Cancer Research UK shop is worth around £30? This soon adds up, so by donating clothes you can really make a difference in helping beat cancer.

Kat: October is breast cancer awareness month, and across the country people are getting ready to raise money for our vital research into this disease, which affects more than 44,000 women every year in the UK.

 

Breast cancer awareness month is a really fun fundraising time of year and there are many ways to get involved. Why not join your local All Walk Together event? Or if you're feeling creative, register for a fundraising pack and organise your own pink activity. For more ideas visit our website, or call your local fundraising office on 08701 602040.

Men can get involved too, and there's something for everyone – friends, family, work colleagues or the whole community. And even if you're not organising or participating in an event, then you can buy a pink product. We have a range of items, including our own limited edition designer rubber ducks. We have items in our own Cancer Research UK shops, as well as Peacocks stores and USA Pro stockists. Find out more on the merchandise page on the website.

Every penny raised through our All Join Together campaign helps us to continue our breast cancer research, and raise breast cancer awareness. Visit our website to read more about where your money goes, and to listen to the special edition breast cancer podcast.

We've reached the end once more so we hope youve enjoyed the podcast. Don't forget that your feedback is vital in helping us improve the show, so please send us your comments and suggestions by email to podcast@cancer.org.uk. And you can sign up to our RSS feed to get the latest Cancer Research UK podcast delivered straight to your computer every month.

We’ll be back next month with a special edition dedicated to breast cancer. Until then, good bye!!

 

• Credits:
• Presented and produced by Kat Arney
• News by Josephine Querido, Henry Scowcroft and Kat Arney
• Genes and cancer package produced and presented by Anna Lacey
• Post-production by Henry Sowcroft
• Original music written and performed by Kat Arney and Henry Scowcroft
• With special thanks to all the participants