AT THE RACES WITH GAI WATERHOUSE

More than $60,000 was raised for ovarian cancer research at a hugely successful birthday celebration at Royal Randwick for Sydney’s leading racehorse trainer Gai Waterhouse on 2 September.

A total of 100 guests attended this inaugural function, which featured leading racecallers Wayne Wilson and Ian Craig. The final sum was greatly boosted by the generous donation of a 10% stake in two young racehorses by our outgoing chairman, Aleco Vrisakis, and BC3 horoughbreds’ Bill Vlahos.

Other popular auction items included a trip for two to the Melbourne Cup courtesy of Ambassador Travel and business class airfares for two to Auckland, donated by Emirates Airlines. The successful raffle included a $500 voucher from Sportingbet, a bottle of Grange donated by Aspinall& Greaves Racing and a case of wine donated by Blue Wren Wines of Mudgee. The door prizes were donated by Café Maybach and Susan Avery Flowers.

During her interview at the lunch, Gai asked Professor Neville Hacker several questions about ovarian cancer, adding that she had known little about the “silent killer” before this event. Gai wrote on her website the next day thatb she was “absolutely delighted” with the success of the lunch. “Wayne Wilson was the MC and no one does a better job. He is one of the nicest people I knowin racing.

Wayne, who had been stricken with cancer several years ago, is caring, loves his sport and is just a damn nice chap. He chose to show the clip of Dance Hero winning the Triple Crown and said in his knowledge he has never known a two-year-old to be tougher, more determined and with such a huge will to win. He said that’s exactly what you need in fighting cancer.

Wayne told the lunch that when he found out that the cancer had come back, several doctors recommended he take it quietly. But Professor Hacker, who Wayne said was wonderfully supportive, declared, ‘Don’t do that, get on with your life and fight it.’ We are delighted to announce that Gai has agreed to be an Ambassador for GO Research Fund, and will help us arrange another Raceday Lunch next year.

WELCOMING A CHAMPION

GO Research Fund is delighted to welcome our new ambassador Dani Samuels. Dani recently became one of only three Australian women to ever win a track and field world title (alongside Cathy Freeman and Jana Pittman).

She created history by becoming the youngest ever world champion for the discus event at the IAAF World Athletics Championships with her best ever throw of 65.44m at the Berlin Olympic Stadium.

She will be using some of her energy and winning powers to help us increase awareness and raise funds for ovarian cancer. “I’m happy to do what I can to make a difference and help win the battle to develop a screening test”, she said.

You can meet Dani at our GO for breakfast event at Parliament House on 25 February.

HEREDITARY OVARIAN CANCER

We now know that about ten per cent of ovarian cancers are inherited. The hereditary predisposition, which can be carried by both males and females, is due to faults (called mutations) in either one of two genes called BRCA1
and BRCA2.

These two genes also increase the risk of developing breast cancer to about 70%. Women with the BRCA1 gene have about a 40% risk of developing ovarian cancer while those with the BRCA2 gene have about a 15% risk. Men who carry the
BRCA2 gene are also at significantly increased risk of developing breast cancer. There is an increased incidence of these genes in certain groups, for example in Jewish and Icelandic people.

An increasing number of women with two or more family members with breast or ovarian cancer are being tested for mutations in the BRCA genes. If a mutation is present, many are choosing to have removal of their fallopian tubes and ovaries after they have completed childbearing because there is no effective screening test for ovarian cancer.

Unfortunately, many women are still not aware that having two or more family members with breast or ovarian cancer may put them at significant risk of having a mutation in one of their BRCA genes.

Because of the lack of awareness of this hereditary aspect, we are still seeing some women with a strong family history presenting with advanced ovarian cancer which could have been prevented by prophylactic (preventative) keyhole surgery to remove their tubes and ovaries.

If a woman is concerned that she may have either of the BRCA genes, she should contact her GP to arrange a referral to a Hereditary Cancer Clinic. There are now a number of these clinics around the country. A member of the Hereditary Cancer Clinic at Prince of Wales Hospital attends our weekly Tumour Board meeting, and when a patient at risk for a BRCA mutation is identified, she is referred for genetic counselling.

Exciting recent research is the development of therapies specifically directed against the RCA genes. These new drugs, sometimes called “targeted” or “gene” therapies, are known as PARP inhibitors. They selectively kill BRCA cancer cells without harming normal cells, so are quite different from conventional chemotherapy.These drugs are undergoing therapeutic trials in women with recurrent ovarian cancer at the Royal Hospital for Women and other centres in Australia and overseas at the present time. Some excellent responses have been seen with few side effects, and it is likely that they will change the way we treat inherited breast and ovarian cancers in the near future.

Professor Neville Hacker

A TIMELY TEST

In 2005, Margaret Church’s sister heard about a family in which several women had died of breast or ovarian cancer. This had so concerned one of the family members that she had had the test for the gene associated with these cancers and it had turned out positive.

Margaret and her sister remarked how similar this was to their own family story, and decided to have the genetic test. Margaret discovered that she had the BRCA2 gene. Although she was feeling well, shortly after the test result Margaret had a pelvic ultrasound which revealed stage 3 ovarian cancer. In addition, Margaret’s CA-125 level was 53,900 (a normal level is under 35).

Professor Hacker operated to remove the cancer, after which she had 10 months of chemotherapy and commenced a course of Tamoxifen. She now has a CA-125 test every three months and the last one was normal. Because of her increased risk
of breast cancer, Margaret, who is 66, has a mammogram and breast ultrasound every year and in addition she has her breasts examined every six months by a breast cancer specialist.

As a result of her own experience, Margaret has set up cancer support groups in Canberra and Queanbeyan for patients and carers which has been “very rewarding and helpful,” she said. Subsequent investigations of her family tree have shown that “hundreds” of her family members have died of cancer. Margaret was in no doubt about having the test because both her father and her sister had suffered from cancer, and said: “I thought it was a good idea. I’ve encouraged everyone in the family to have the test and to do what they have to do about it so they don’t suffer from cancer.”

A COURAGEOUS DECISION

Five years ago, at 41, Henrietta Miller made the brave decision to have her ovaries removed. Both her mother and her grandmother had died of ovarian cancer in their late 40s, so there was an obvious risk that she too could develop the disease.

Henrietta hadn’t considered the issue of hereditary predisposition to ovarian cancer until her younger sister had learned about it during her midwifery training. She went for a session of genetic counselling, after which she decided not to have the test for BRCA1 and BRCA2 because it was not infallible. Instead, Henrietta was referred to a gynaecologist who, knowing that she had had three children and didn’t intend to have more, removed her ovaries and put her on a course of hormone replacement therapy.

The primary schoolteacher is very happy with her decision to have the operation: “Before that, I was having an (ovarian) ultrasound every year, and that was worse. Because every year I would start thinking that this is the year that it would show something.”

The operation itself was fairly straightforward and Henrietta recovered quite quickly. Now, she has regular mammograms because of the increased risk of breast cancer, but overall feels “very positive”.

“I don’t really think about it any more; I think it was the right thing to do.”

“I WILL DEAL WITH IT”

While she was in the Royal Hospital for Women recovering from a 7½ hour operation, Merle Finkel read the available materials on ovarian cancer.

She discovered to her surprise that there was no accurate test for this “silent killer”, and that Professor Hacker’s GO Research Fund needed funding.

“I sat up in bed and told myself I was going to help”, she says. “I don’t want anyone from 16 to 600 to go through this.” Although presently undergoing a course of chemotherapy, she is already planning a fund-raising breakfast for next year’s Ovarian Cancer Month as well as other merchandising initiatives.

Merle’s road to diagnosis is sadly familiar. At the end of last year, she felt unwell and started to lose weight. She was diagnosed with ulcers and had a course of medication. Soon after that she started getting pain in her lower abdomen and so had a pelvic ultrasound and a CA-125 blood test, which was only slightly elevated; the ultrasound showed small cysts on each ovary which were thought to be benign.

One day she collapsed in terrible pain and was taken to the emergency department, where an operation was ordered but cancer was not suspected. Waking after the marathon surgery, this dynamic business- woman discovered that she had cancer. It had started in her ovaries and metastasised to her bowel, part of which had been removed. She has now had three courses of chemotherapy and is awaiting the fourth.

In a few weeks’ time she is having the genetic test for cancer, as her mother died of breast cancer at 48, and her father of bowel cancer at 61.

Recently, her sister has had part of her lung removed after being diagnosed with lung cancer. But Merle, 62, does not feel angry, or ask, “Why me?” “I never thought that at all. I thought that I need to get rid of it and move along.

My motto is, ‘Whatever I am handed for the day, I will deal with it’,” she says.

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