Latest news with #breastcancer
BBC News
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Tattooist skating to give free tattoos to breast cancer survivors
A tattooist is taking on a "skateathon" fundraising challenge to provide free areola tattoos for breast cancer survivors. Gemma Bowers owns a salon in Ryde, on the Isle of Wight, where she carries out cosmetic tattoos, but also specialises in medical tattoos for women who have undergone a mastectomy. Starting in East Cowes on 3 August, she will be joined by a group of friends and volunteers as they attempt to complete a marathon on roller said: "It's like having something amputated and we're giving it back. It's part of being a woman and you're giving someone back their femininity and their dignity." Gemma said it was after her best friend asked if she would tattoo her breasts that she started gaining attention for her work."I practiced and practiced and posted about it online, which is when I had other ladies coming to me asking, 'can you do mine?'," she gaining a reputation for her work on social media, she began teaching other artists how to carry out mastectomy tattoos. "It kind of just organically happened from there and got bigger and bigger," she said. Gemma said a lot of the women who she gave tattoos to came away in tears. "It's lovely to see and I don't think there is any other treatment like it," she added. Gemma also set up a charity, the TATA Foundation, to raise funds to cover the costs of areola tattooing for those who need it the after only putting roller-skates on for the first time in January, Gemma said she now has 12 other people joining her for this year's fundraising challenge. "I posted it on Instagram and then a few people said they would like to do it and I said 'yes the more the merrier'," she said."We've been trying to find the flattest and safest area because if you hit a stone you're going over." They challenge will start in East Cowes, before moving to the boating lake in Ryde, the cycle path between Cowes and Newport and back, before finally finishing at Skates in Newport. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
20 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
Twelve 'harmed' in Durham NHS hospital's breast cancer error
A serious failure in breast cancer care at a hospital trust has led to 12 patients being harmed and triggered investigations into 60 more cases, a health board has County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust previously apologised for distress caused to patients and their families after it said some women received "more extensive surgery than was clinically necessary at the time".Following the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) review, 12 patients have been contacted to discuss failings of care which has led them to harm. Dr Neil O'Brien, Chief Medical Officer for the region, said "immediate mitigations" were put in place as soon as alerts were raised. "As soon as we knew, as soon as alerts were raised we put in immediate mitigations to keep people safe. "We are committed to going back and looking at every single woman who may well have been affected by this and ensuring that any treatment inefficiencies are corrected," he told the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) annual meeting. The 12 patients met a threshold of "duty of candour" which is where failings of care have led to harm, the RCS report revealed cancers that were missed, mastectomies that may not have been necessary, incidents of chemotherapy not being offered and surgery undertaken to remove lymph nodes when not clinically necessary. More than 200 cases have been been identified so far, but the trust said it could include thousands of cases dating back to 2019, mainly at the University Hospital of North Durham - with a number of patient deaths also being investigated.A national clinical investigation team has been set up with experts from across the country, with the issue also being investigated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), and NHS England. Health bosses said it was a "significant failure of patient care" while the trust said it was taking every concern raised "extremely seriously".Sir Liam Donaldson, chair of the North East and North Cumbria ICB, said at a board meeting: "I think we shouldn't be in any doubt that this is a very serious failure in standards of care in a crucial area of service that has survival, life and death matters involved, so it does need to be looked at extremely carefully."A further 95 patients have also come forward after a helpline was set up, the trust said. 'Sorry for distress' The trust, which also operates Darlington Memorial Hospital, has contacted and apologised to the patients it has previously said it had appointed two new consultant breast surgeons, invested in modern equipment and strengthened both its multidisciplinary team processes and clinical governance arrangements, following the review.A spokesperson for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust said: "We recognise this may be a worrying time for many of our patients and their families and we would like to reassure our communities that we are taking the review and every concern raised extremely seriously."The trust also said some of the actions put in place to support the review had impacted service capacity and as a result, some patients were being offered the option to have their appointment at a neighbouring trust. "We are sorry for any distress or inconvenience this is causing," it added."We are working very closely with local GPs and neighbouring NHS trusts, whose mutual support is both essential and very gratefully received during this time."The helpline set up can be reached on 0191 333 2126 and patients can also email: Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Todd Chrisley Would Take Another '28 Months' In Prison To Avoid Dealing With His 'Heaviest' Fear
For former convict , the terror of spending time behind bars again isn't what keeps him up at night. It is his wife, Chrisley's, health. In 2012, the Chrisleys' family matriarch discovered she had breast cancer, following which she underwent a double mastectomy. The family was hit with another tragedy in 2022, as Todd and Julie were convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and tax evasion, before being pardoned in May 2025 by . Spending 28 months in a federal prison, the father of five had his share of challenging experiences. However, he recently revealed that nothing compares to the fear of him dealing with his wife's life-threatening condition. Todd Chrisley's 'Heaviest' Situation Was His Wife Julie Chrisley's Cancer During the July 30 episode of the "Chrisley Confessions 2.0" podcast, the patriarch got candid about his worst fear. He recalled meeting a "very wealthy" attorney in prison who told him, "This has to be the darkest day of your life." However, the real estate mogul replied, "No, it's not," before shedding light on the actual frightening moment of his existence. He said, "The darkest day of my life was when Julie was diagnosed with breast cancer. Not the death of my father. It was that day." The businessman admitted that the news left a lasting impact, saying he now suffers from intense PTSD because of it. "When you talk about PTSD, people getting help for it, you and I both know that I have that because of that moment in our life," Todd candidly told his partner of three decades. He continued, "That still is the heaviest situation I've ever dealt with and the most feared issue that I've ever dealt with." Todd Chrisley Prefers Jail Over His Wife's Health Scare Todd further revealed the difficult positions he would rather be in than deal with his wife's medical condition. "I would take 28 months at FPC Pensacola any day of the week over that fear," the reality TV personality swore before sharing his reasons. He stated, "Because at FPC Pensacola, I had an exit date. But with that diagnosis of breast cancer, I had to live every day wondering when my exit date was." The entrepreneur reflected on the phase during his wife's ailment, noting that their relationship suffered "a lot of detachment," which they worked out. Todd doubled down on the dreadful moment, saying, "So prison wasn't the darkest day of my life. Cancer was the darkest day of my life." The media personality also shared an insight into why he believes life behind bars was not a terrible choice compared to a terminal disease. He said, "How could you say that was your worst experience when you come out and I have at least 75 relationships that I've made with men from all age groups that have made me a better human being." The 'Chrisley Knows Best' Star Wished To Change His Wife's Diagnosis The business mogul was deeply concerned by his wife's ailment so much that when a reporter asked him what he would change about his life, his response was "to alter his wife's diagnosis." When one of his kids questioned why he opted to change Julie's health predicament instead of mentioning his time in confinement, he explained his decision. According to Todd, the news of the disease placed him in "a prison of 'when are you going to strike next and what form will you strike next?'" The media personality also shared an insight into why he believes life behind bars was not a terrible choice, given the relationships one forms there. Julie Chrisley Addressed Rumors About Her Illness Being Fake While Julie has been transparent about her medical conditions, several rumors of her faking the illness surfaced. However, the mom of three finally set the record straight, slamming the critics. "The one thing that I wanna talk about that was in the tabloids is they said that I faked my breast cancer, and that is the craziest thing," the 52-year-old mom stated, per US Magazine. Julie went on to clarify that the ailment occurred before her incarceration and, as such, she had time to undergo treatment. The "Chrisley Knows Best" star faced the rumor-mongers who claimed her battle with the disease was a farce, calling their actions "disrespectful." Todd Chrisley Confessed His Wife's After-Jail Appearance Turned Him Off After Todd and Julie spent over two years apart, serving time in different penitentiaries, the Chrisley patriarch had a shocking reaction seeing his wife for the first time after her release. As The Blast previously reported, Todd confessed that his initial thought was to back off. "I'm not going to lie. When I first saw you when I got out of that car, I started thinking about going back," the 56-year-old revealed to his partner. Instead of acting on his thoughts, Todd disclosed that he chose to "embrace" her look, believing it was just for the moment and she would return to her usual style.
Medscape
2 days ago
- Health
- Medscape
Targeted but Toxic? Addressing the Safety Challenges of ADCs
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are an evolving class of targeted cancer therapy that combines a monoclonal antibody with a cytotoxic payload or agent via chemical linkers. Attaching the monoclonal antibody with the cytotoxic agent enables an ADC to target cancer cells, maximizing efficacy and minimizing off-target toxicity. Several ADCs, including HER2+, HR+, and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtypes have shown significant efficacy in treating breast cancer. The ADCs currently approved by the FDA for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer and as an adjuvant treatment for HER2+ breast cancer include trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1), trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd), datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd), patritumab-DXd, and sacituzumab govitecan (SG). Although ADCs have demonstrated significant efficacy, treatment-related toxicity, mainly from off-target effects of cytotoxic payloads and unintended bystander damage, remains a concern. A recent systemic review and meta-analysis by Zhu et al on ADCs found treatment-related adverse events of 91.2% for all-grade adverse events and 46.1% for grade ≥ 3 adverse events. Lymphopenia (53%) was the most common all ‐ grade adverse event, and neutropenia (31.2%) was the most common grade ≥ 3 adverse event. Approximately 13.2% of patients discontinued ADC treatment due to serious toxic events. This article discusses some of the common hematologic, cardiac, and gastrointestinal (GI) toxicities/adverse events associated with ADCs and their management. Managing Hematologic Adverse Events Neutropenia, anemia, and thrombocytopenia are common hematologic toxicities associated with ADCs. The most common cytopenia associated with T-DXd is neutropenia. In the DESTINY-Breast03 trial, any-grade neutropenia was observed in 42.8% of patients taking T-DXd. Although grade 3 or higher neutropenia was reported in 19.1% of patients, the DESTINY-Breast01 trial reported only 1.6% of patients experienced febrile neutropenia associated with T-DXd. The incidence of all-grade neutropenia associated with T-DM1 across trials ranges from 5% to 11% with grade ≥ 3 neutropenia, including febrile neutropenia, occurring in up to 6% of patients. Neutropenia-associated with ADC toxicity can be managed through dose modifications and temporary treatment holds. Prophylactic granulocyte colony-stimulating factor can decrease the incidence, duration, and severity of neutropenia and is indicated for patients with a history of neutropenic complications. Since the risk of developing febrile neutropenia with T-DXd is low (≤ 10%), prophylactic granulocyte colony-stimulating factor is typically not indicated. Regarding anemia, the EMILIA and TH3RESA trials reported the incidence of anemia associated with T-DM1 to be only 2.7%. However, findings from a randomized open-label phase 3 trial found grade 3 or higher anemia in 8.1% of patients receiving T-DXd. A phase 1/2 multicenter open-label study reported anemia in 18.7% of patients receiving patritumab-DXd, a HER3-directed ADC. A common approach to managing grades 3 and 4 anemia associated with ADCs involves withholding the treatment until anemia is lower than grade 2. The WSG-ADAPT, TH3RESA, and EMILIA trials found all-grade thrombocytopenia occurs in up to 28% of patients receiving T-DM1. The EMILIA trial reported severe thrombocytopenia in up to 12% of patients treated with T-DM1; the DESTINY-Breast03 trial reported grades 3 and 4 thrombocytopenia in 7% of patients receiving T-DXd; and a phase 2 study reported grades 3 or higher thrombocytopenia in 1.7% of patients receiving HER3-DXd. Managing thrombocytopenia involves reducing the dose of the ADC until patients recovery to grade 1 is achieved and continuing with the reduced dosage for the duration of treatment. Managing Cardiotoxicity Cardiotoxicity is a known adverse event of HER2-targeted therapies such as T-DM1 and T-DXd. HER2 receptors are usually expressed on cardiomyocytes and play a key role in normal fetal heart development and the growth and survival of adult cardiomyocytes. Preclinical studies suggest T-DM1 can exert more cardiotoxic effects than trastuzumab, though clinical evidence remains low. A pooled meta-analysis by Pondé et al of data from 1961 patients exposed to T-DM1 in seven trials found 3.37% experienced at least one cardiac event. Most of the events (2.04%) were grade 1 or 2 left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF); grade 4 LVEF events were rare. Although no specific guidelines exist for the management of T-DM1-associated cardiotoxicity, general recommendations for ADC treatment from the 2022 European Society of Cardiology Cardio-Oncology guidelines suggest a baseline ECG prior to treatment initiation and then echocardiography every 3 months thereafter, along with natriuretic peptide monitoring throughout treatment. Treatment interruption and reassessment are indicated for patients whose LVEF drops to ≥ 10% from pretreatment value or to < 40%. For T-DXd, cardiac events were minimal in DESTINY-Breast01 and Breast03 trials, with few patients experiencing reversible LVEF reductions; no events of heart failure were reported. However, the DESTINY-Breast04 trial showed that 11.9% of patients receiving T-DXd who had not been previously treated with an anti-HER2 agent had LVEF reductions of 10%-19%, and 1.5% had > 20%. Management of ADC-related cardiac events includes reducing or permanently withdrawing treatment. Following treatment interruption, ADCs may be resumed with increased monitoring if cardiac function recovers. Permanent discontinuation may be required for patients whose LVEF remains significantly low or who develop heart failure. Managing Gastrointestinal Toxicity Nausea and vomiting are two of the most common GI toxicities associated with T-DXd treatment. In the DESTINY-Breast03 trial, 72.8% (187 of 257) and 6.6% (17 of 257) of patients had any grade and grade ≥ 3 nausea, respectively, post-T-DXd treatment. Vomiting was also commonly reported, with 44.0% (113 of 257) and 1.6% (4 of 257) of patients experiencing any grade and grade ≥ 3 vomiting, respectively. Based on these findings and other clinical trial data, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Clinical Practice in Oncology guidelines reclassified T-DXd as highly emetogenic. The emetogenic classification of SG varies by guideline but is generally categorized as high-moderate or high. According to pooled analysis data by Pedersini et al, 65.6% and 43.7% of patients experienced nausea and vomiting, respectively, with SG therapy. Most cases of nausea and vomiting were grade 1 or 2, and approximately 10% were grade 3 or 4. T-DM1 is categorized as a low emetogenic since its associated toxicities are easier to manage. Prophylactic antiemetic therapy for nausea and vomiting associated with ADCs varies based on guidelines and emetogenic categorization. Due to their higher emetogenic risk, a 3- or 4-drug antiemetic regimen (eg, 5-hydroxytryptamine 3 receptor antagonist, dexamethasone, neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist, olanzapine) is recommended for T-DXd and SG. Due to its low emetic risk, prophylactic antiemetics are not usually recommended for T-DM1 but may be considered based on a patient's individual risk factors. In general, dose interruption or modification is recommended for patients on T-DXd or SG who experience grades 3 or 4 nausea and vomiting until they recover to grade 1 toxicity. Treatment with SG may be permanently stopped if grade 3 or 4 toxicity lasts for more than 3 weeks. Diarrhea is another common GI adverse event associated with ADC use and is reported to occur in 59.7% of patients treated with SG, 30.2% with T-DXd, and 17.5% with T-DM1. Management for ADC-associated diarrhea includes loperamide, intravenous fluids, metoclopramide with or without dexamethasone, and olanzapine for refractory cases. Preventive strategies include dietary modifications (eg, high fiber diet), oral supplements and probiotics, and nutritional counseling. Managing Interstitial Lung Disease Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a group of lung disorders characterized by fibrosis or scarring of the lungs. Risk factors for the development of drug-induced ILD include increased age (≥ 60 years), smoking, pre-existing lung conditions, higher alcohol consumption, and renal failure. A pooled analysis of eight T-DXd monotherapy studies suggested 15.8% of the population developed ILD/pneumonitis with 77.7% experiencing grade 1 or 2 events. The DESTINY-Breast03 trial showed the incidence of drug-related ILD/pneumonitis with T-DXd to be lower at 10.5%. In phase 3 of the ASCENT trial, ILD associated with SG or T-DM1 was rare in patients with metastatic TNBC. In addition, the phase 1/2 study, U31402-A-J101, investigating HER3-DXd reported ILD in 6.6% of patients; most cases were grade 1 or 2, three were grade 3, and one was grade 5. Regular monitoring and assessment of patients are important to prevent ILD/pneumonitis. Per the current T-DXd ILD/pneumonitis guidelines, a computed tomography scan should be obtained prior to initiating ADC treatment and every 9-12 weeks thereafter during treatment. Patients who develop ILD/pneumonitis should undergo CT scans every 1-2 weeks (or as clinically indicated). In cases of suspected ILD/pneumonitis, consultation with a pulmonary specialist is recommended. Treatment for ILD/pneumonitis includes initiation of corticosteroid therapy immediately upon detection of grade ≥ 2 ILD/pneumonitis; corticosteroid treatment may be considered in patients with grade 1 ILD/pneumonitis. Guidelines for treating ILD/pneumonitis include starting corticosteroids immediately after detecting grade ≥ 2 ILD/pneumonitis and considering corticosteroid treatment in case of grade 1 cases. Future Directions Regular monitoring and prophylactic management are essential to reduce and mitigate ADC-related toxicities and maximize treatment benefits. Other toxicities associated with ADCs include neurological, embryo-fetal, ocular, and dermatological events. Continued research is needed to understand the mechanisms that contribute to ADC-related toxicities and provide additional management approaches to reduce risk. In addition, future research efforts should focus on the development of highly targeted therapeutics aimed at specific antigens, the creation of safer drug payloads, and the innovation of new linker technologies to reduce off-target effects. Novel ADCs are in development to enhance cancer immunotherapy by targeting immune cells or components of tumor microenvironment rather than tumor-associated antigens directly. These include immunostimulatory antibody conjugates that use immune-activating payloads (eg, Toll-like receptors 7 and 8, stimulators of interferon genes agonists) instead of traditional cytotoxins. Early clinical trials have evaluated immunostimulatory antibody conjugates against targets like HER2 and carcinoembryonic antigen. In addition, other ADCs are being developed to target elements of the tumor microenvironment such as T cells and fibroblasts. These novel approaches are likely to produce unique toxicity profiles, highlighting the need for a deeper understanding of their safety as development progresses.
CTV News
2 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
Idylwylde event raises funds for breast cancer
A total of 144 women took part in an annual fundraiser Tuesday at the Idylwylde in Sudbury to raise money for breast cancer research.
