Ovacome Summer 2014

Photography: Daily Echo, Bournemouth
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Singing to recovery
Gareth Malone, the preppy choirmaster credited with reigniting our interest in
choral singing through his BBC Two series The Choir, would be proud. For word
is getting around about how uplifting being part of a singing group can be and the
benefits are numerous when dealing with illness.
Rising Voices - a community choir for people affected by
cancer in Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire - has found in
a study that members have benefited from being part of a
mutually empathetic community, in which they were not
treated as victims.
Altogether Rising Voices: Noëline Young (fourth from left, front row).
As well as getting enjoyment from singing as a group,
members liked the social interaction at weekly rehearsals and
the travel to events, which could be anywhere from a local
shopping centre or Women’s Institute meeting to a twinned
event in Cherbourg.
Concentrated chemo
A
decision on whether to
progress with a new method of
chemotherapy for treating ovarian cancer
could be made soon.
PETROC is a study of the use of
chemotherapy that is given into the
peritoneal space (IP) for ovarian cancer,
rather than into a vein (IV). This
increases the concentration of the drug
around the cancer and can increase its
effectiveness. The study is for patients
who need to complete their treatment
after primary chemotherapy for three
cycles and a successful interval operation.
This technique was new to the UK
while it had been tested previously in
the USA. The early studies had a lot of
problems with toxicity which delayed
acceptance in the UK. However,
medical staff have learnt how to give
the treatment much more safely, and
UK centres have been trained so that
after the first 150 patients there was
no difference in toxicity between the
Carboplatin and Paclitaxel given in the
IP arm or the control IV arm.
There was a third arm in the study using
IP Cisplatin instead of the Carboplatin,
however the independent data
monitoring committee recommended
that this be stopped as it was no more
effective and more toxic.
Member and Ovacome trustee Noëline Young says that the
established associations between music and health, both
physical and spiritual, have been well documented and
highlighted in a report by Cardiff University.*
“Participation in music making has been shown to improve
well being and music has the power to communicate with
individuals at times of difficulty. This formed the background
to the establishment of our survivors’ choir, Rising Voices,”
says Noëline, an ovarian cancer survivor herself.
“The intention was to encourage participation in singing
to boost confidence and social interaction and promote
wellbeing, as an aid to recovery from cancer.”
The choir has been supported by a start-up grant from
Macmillan Cancer Support and Dorset Cancer Network, but
longer term it plans to be self-sufficient, supported through
voluntary donations by members, friends, donations and
money raised from public performances.
If you are interested in joining Rising Voices, it rehearses
weekly at St John’s Church in Parkstone, Poole.
e-mail admin@risingvoices.org.uk or phone 07500 676083.
*Gale NS, Enright S, Reagon C, Lewis I, van Deursen R.
A pilot investigation of quality of life and lung function following
choral singing in cancer survivors and their carers. Cancer,
2012; 6:261
The study has now been resubmitted to
Cancer Research UK with the planned
interim analysis to allow the number
of centres giving IP treatment in the
UK to increase from nine to 28 and
to include a further 630 patients in
the trial, to prove whether it increases
survival.
Dr Sean Kehoe, a gynae surgeon.
has reviewed the medical stories on
page 4 and 5
4 Phone Ovacome’s nurse led support line on 0845 371 0554 it together