This March, Tommy shares his story & Lyndsey talks about how she is working to Make More Survivors.
MARCH 2021
Two more days to match! We are extremely fortunate to have an amazing corporate partner like Qualtrics. Every year Qualtrics roll out their 5 For The Fightcampaign. This year it is in honour of 8-year-old cancer fighter, Steele. Any donations made before April 1st, Qualtrics are going to match them x5. Yes, you did read that correctly! So, what this means is:
Every €5 you donate, Qualtrics will make it €25 for cancer research Every €50 you donate, Qualtrics will make it €250 for cancer research
So today and tomorrow, if you are in a position to donate to cancer research we would encourage you to submit your donationhere.
Also, as part of 5 For The Fight this year, Qualtrics are sending high fives around the world in an attempt to break a Guinness World Record for the longest virtual high five chain. For every high five video submitted $5 (€4.20) will be donated to cancer research. Don’t leave patients with cancer hanging send a virtual high five today. Click here to find out more.
Food is central to cancer treatment and prevention. According to the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) approximately 40% of cancers are preventable through maintaining a healthy body weight, eating a healthy diet, and being physically active. Studies have shown that those who adhere to more than five of the ten WCRF recommendations, on a long-term basis, are predicted to have an up to 61% lower risk of dying from cancer. It is for this reason that Breakthrough Cancer Research teamed up with leading registered Irish dietitians, Dr Aoife Ryan, Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics at UCC, and Dr Éadaoin Ní Bhuachalla, UCC PhD graduate and HSE Senior Primary Care Dietitian,to create
The Anti-Cancer Cookbook: Recipes to Reduce your Cancer Risk
Wishing to move away from the rising tide of misinformation on cancer and nutrition now widely circulating, this book is the ‘go-to’ evidence-based resource for people who want to cook and consume healthier food to lower their risk of cancer. The recipes in the book are also suitable for cancer survivors who are finished cancer treatment and have been advised to follow a healthy eating diet.
This cookbook contains delicious and nutritious recipes from dietitians, oncologists, and well-known chefs/food writers such as Neven Maguire, Georgina Campbell & Derval O’Rourke, and are based on the most recent cancer prevention guidelines from the World Cancer Research Fund, the global authority on cancer prevention.
The recommendations and family friendly recipes contained in this cookbook, which are low in energy, fat and salt but high in fibre, vegetables and wholegrains, represent a package of lifestyle choices which, together, can make an enormous impact on people’s likelihood of developing cancer and other diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. Mouth-watering recipes include a tomato and cannellini bean soup, spicy chicken pitta, chickpea and mango salad and a fish pie, to give you just a flavour of some of these tasty dishes.
All royalties from the sale of this book go to Breakthrough Cancer Research to help fund more vital cancer research.
“My name is Tommy Clince (Thomas if my mother is asking), and I’m 58 years young! As March is Multiple Myeloma Awareness Month, I wished to share my story and journey with you.
In mid-2012 I had a sore back, but as I am a carpenter working in the building trade, I just put this down to wear and tear and headed to the physio to get myself sorted. After a few months and no improvement my physio said they were going to try traction, which is basically putting weights on both ends of your body and pulling you apart. However, during this pull motion my body went into complete shock and the doctor on call had to administer a muscle relaxant injection. I was referred to hospital for an epidural, which did give me relief for a couple of months but then the pain came back so I went in for a 2nd epidural. Whilst there a nurse suggested that I go to see a physio in Maynooth. On my 2nd visit I still didn’t have much more movement, so she said that there was obviously something more serious going on so sent me to my GP for blood tests.
Once my blood results came back, I was admitted to hospital under the care of Dr O’Gorman. I was in for a couple of nights and then my wife Niamh picked me up on a Saturday morning and we headed home - it was Valentine’s weekend! That night I got a call from the hospital to come back in immediately. I thought it was just for another scan and I’d be out the following day, but boy was I wrong!
On arriving at the hospital, I was rushed into ICU as my kidneys were failing and I was hooked up to a dialysis machine. Niamh was told to come back by 7am the next morning. That next day we met Dr. O’Gorman and he told me that I had Multiple Myeloma and two fractured vertebrae, which is why I went into shock when the physio pulled me apart during the traction. Needless to say when I heard I had cancer it totally knocked me. I was absolutely not expecting that. Over the next few days, still hooked up to a dialysis machine, I was told that I would need chemo, radiotherapy and then a stem cell transplant, but the most important thing was to get my kidneys back working. I was moved to a room and got dialysis every second day for three weeks and thankfully my kidneys started going back to normal so they said that they would start chemo.
In total I got 35 rounds of chemo which ended in August 2013 and next up was the stem cell transplant, where they were going to harvest my stem cells, clean them up and then transplant them back into me. I was given a few weeks off chemo to let my body have a break and then on the 16th September 2013 I started a high dose chemo regime. I received four rounds over four weeks, which really knocked the stuffing out of me, and then it was harvest time.
Following this harvesting I went back into hospital on 30th October, straight into isolation and got two more blasts of a high dose chemo to totally knock my immune system and then it was time to get my stem cell transplant.
We were told that because of whatever they wash the stem cells with when it is transplanted back into your body your sweat and breath smells of sweetcorn, and it sure did. All the nurses were coming in to have a smell and thought it was hilarious!! I was in isolation for 28 days and then thankfully I could go home and try to start living a normal life again, all be it taking a chemo tablet for 21 days on and 7 days off and going into hospital once a month for a bone strengthener.
Thankfully I am now 8 years on and living life to the full - back working, playing golf and enjoying being with my friends and family. I would not be here only for the amazing staff and doctors that I met. They were so helpful and no question was a problem.
Even though hearing that I had Multiple Myeloma was the biggest shock, I am so thankful for all the amazing research that has been done and is still going on that means I can live a very full and happy life. Advice I would give to anyone going through treatment is listen to your body. Don’t try to do too much, treat the down time as yours and stay positive. Having a positive attitude is what will keep your body going.
In October 2014, Niamh was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and had to have a double mastectomy. In January 2015, she started chemo. After 18 blasts of chemo, she had to have radiotherapy, which lasted for 35 sessions. Only for donations to research into different types of cancers the two of us might not be here to tell our story!"
Tommy Clince, Co. Meath
Research: Targeting The Anti-Apoptotic BCL-2 Dependence In Multiple Myeloma Patients
Multiple Myeloma (MM) is a form of blood cancer that produces abnormal antibodies called plasma cells. These cells grow uncontrollably in bone marrow and lead to a variety of symptoms including tiredness, bone pain and increased infections. While there have been great improvements in the treatment of MM, unfortunately it remains an incurable cancer.
Lyndsey Flanagan was awarded the Breakthrough Cancer Research Scholarship and is working alongside Dr Tríona Ní Chonghaile and Prof. Siobhan Glavey in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, for the next three years to try to create a better treatment for MM cancer patients.
BCL-2 is a protein that controls the survival of human MM cells. One way in which cancer can become resistant to treatment is through increased reliance on BCL-2. However, a recent breakthrough saw a BCL-2 inhibitor called ABT-199 developed, which selectively targets cells that are reliant on BCL-2.
The aim of Lyndsey’s research is to identify MM cell lines and patient samples that are reliant on BCL-2 for survival, using a technology called BH3 profiling. Screening a panel of epigenetic modifier drugs, which are drugs that can turn genes on and off, we will test if they can make MM cells even more reliant on BCL-2. If this is successful, the MM cells will be more sensitive to ABT-199 treatment. Additionally, we are looking to develop a biomarker, or tool, that can be used to accurately identify BCL-2 dependence in MM cell lines and patient samples.
The goal of this research project is to use BH3 profiling technology to identify MM patient samples that are reliant on BCL-2 for survival, and therefore will respond positively to ABT-199 treatment. Our hope is that this new drug combination will work to ensure a longer treatment response in Multiple Myeloma cancer patients.
Your support funds researchers such as Lyndsey Flanagan. On behalf of those diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, and their families, we thank you for helping to fight this cancer, along with other poor prognosis cancers.
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