Winter News 2013 - Beating Bowel Cancer

Care and support
Patient Services
National Colorectal Cancer Nurses
Network Conference
In October we were delighted to
organise the National Colorectal
Cancer Nurses Network’s annual
conference in London, which was attended by 70
colorectal and stoma nurses.
The delegates were given presentations on a wide
variety of subjects ranging from the Cancer Drugs
Fund to bowel management after rectal cancer to selfmanagement
pathways. To wind up a very successful
day of learning and networking, one of our Bowel
Cancer Voices, Hazel Elkamouri, gave a patient
perspective on the challenges of coping with advanced
bowel cancer.
What the nurses valued most from the day was the
opportunity to network with other colleagues and share
experiences.
New Chemotherapy Drugs
There are two new drugs
in the pipeline to treat
advanced bowel cancer;
both have been licenced
by the US Food & Drug
Administration, and await
approval here in the UK.
Zaltrap (aflibercept) is
a targeted therapy which
aims to block the growth
of blood vessels to
tumours (angiogenesis).
In a large study of patients
with previously treated
advanced bowel cancer,
aflibercept in combination
with chemotherapy
(FOLFIRI) was shown
to help some patients
to live longer.
Stivarga (regorafenib)
is an oral medicine which
targets key proteins that
are essential for the
survival of the cancer cell.
By specifically targeting
these proteins, regorafenib
may stop cancer growth or
reduce the growth of the
tumour.
There are clinical trials
available for both of these
drugs – contact us if you
would like further details.
New Member
of our Medical
Advisory Board
We are delighted to
welcome to our
Medical Advisory Board
Mr Hassan Z Malik, a
consultant hepatobiliary
surgeon and clinical lead
for liver surgery at
University Hospital
Aintree. Appointed to
the hospital in 2007, he
has introduced complex
liver surgical techniques
within the unit and his
areas of clinical interest
include the management
of colorectal liver
metastases.
Mr Hassan Z Malik
Consultant hepatobiliary
surgeon and clinical lead for
liver surgery at University
Hospital Aintree.
www.beatingbowelcancer.org 9