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Zoe takes on Mt Kilimanjaro for cancer research

Cancer, types of cancer, cancer foundation, australian cancer research foundation, cancer charities, cancer charity, acrf, cancer news, cancer fundraising, cancer awareness, cancer donate, cancer donation, cancer donations, give to charity, giving to charity, cancer articles, cancer research donate, cancer research donation, donate to cancer research, cancer research funding, charities for cancer, donate to cancer, Australian cancer charities, australia cancer research, best cancer charity, cancer research fundraising, cancer charity events, cancer charity donations, donate to cancer charity, australia cancer research, cancer research fundraising, give to cancer research,“In October, I’ll be fulfilling one of my biggest dreams — climbing Mt Kilimanjaro. About six years ago I did some trekking in Nepal and Tibet, and because I’m such a beach girl I was really surprised by how much I loved being in the mountains. It gave me this unexpected sense of peace and inspired me to explore other places.

I knew that when I did finally get the chance to turn my dream into a reality, I would be fundraising for cancer along the way.

Cancer research is a cause that is very dear to my heart. I have witnessed many loved ones suffer from this disease, including my grandfather who passed away from bowel cancer 16 years ago.

My Aunty is now fighting ovarian cancer as well. After two rounds of chemotherapy, we’re hopeful that it won’t progress. Despite what she’s going through, she still carries herself with such courage and grace and inspires everyone around her.

Her son was diagnosed with leukaemia at just two years old and sadly lost his battle at seven. I was 14 at the time and I remember how brave he was, how little he complained, and how much I learned about the importance of living each day to the fullest. This is when I first realised that life is precious and not to be wasted.

You only live once so you may as well make it count, which is why I thought; why wait any longer to cross Mt Kilimanjaro off my bucket list?

I really love to travel and meet new people and see new cultures so this is the perfect opportunity. Africa is such a fascinating place to me and I’m really looking forward to being in nature, removed from all the distractions of daily life. The area looks so stunning, I’m hoping that I might get a glimpse of some of the ‘Big 5‘ in their natural habitat.

I’m sure it will be challenging but I’m passionate about breaking down the limitations of the mind and living the life of your dreams. A few years ago, I was in a serious car accident that left me with injuries and for months I was bed ridden, so ever since then I love to challenge myself physically and mentally.

Cancer, types of cancer, cancer foundation, australian cancer research foundation, cancer charities, cancer charity, acrf, cancer news, cancer fundraising, cancer awareness, cancer donate, cancer donation, cancer donations, give to charity, giving to charity, cancer articles, cancer research donate, cancer research donation, donate to cancer research, cancer research funding, charities for cancer, donate to cancer, Australian cancer charities, australia cancer research, best cancer charity, cancer research fundraising, cancer charity events, cancer charity donations, donate to cancer charity, australia cancer research, cancer research fundraising, give to cancer research,I remember trekking in Tibet, over a pass at 5500 metres and feeling so sick that I wanted to give up. But I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and telling myself “you can do this, this is nothing compared to what you’ve been through before.” The sense of accomplishment at the end of the day was like nothing else. It showed me that we can do anything we put our minds to.

I am so proud to be climbing for cancer research. With 1 in 3 people now being diagnosed with cancer, I believe anything we can do to stop cancer in its tracks is important. Having seen so many loved ones go through treatment I think the more we learn about the disease, the better treatment will become. My hope is that we can not only cure cancer but prevent it.

In honour of those who have survived, who kicked cancer in the butt, to those who are currently fighting and to those who have lost their battle, I dedicate this climb to you. I know that all of you will be with me every step of the way.” – ACRF supporter, Zoe Trenwith

Zoe is a yoga teacher and in the lead up to her climb, she will be hosting a 108 Sun Salutation Fundraising class in South Australia on June 17th. “As a yoga teacher, I knew that hosting a yoga event was one way I could do something to bring people together.” If you would like to support Zoe, or find out more about her yoga class, click here.

Promising new treatment for acute myeloid leukaemia

cancer articles, cancer research donate, cancer research donation, donate to cancer research, information about cancer, cancer research funding,Patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) can look forward to the development of new therapies following a discovery by cancer researchers at Walter and Eliza Hall Institute.

While investigating ways to target particular types of AML, and hoping to increase the chance of a cure for the patient while limiting damage to healthy cells, the team discovered a new way to kill cells that are dangerously multiplying.

A process known as apoptosis (programmed cell death) is a natural and necessary response to keep the proliferation of human cells in check. Apoptosis is interrupted in cancers, including AML, leading to unchecked cell growth.

Dr. Gabriela Brumatti said traditional chemotherapies, which encourage apoptosis, have a high relapse rate. For example, within five years of completing treatment, half of AML patients suffer a relapse of their cancer, and of those who relapse, only 50 percent survive.

Her team tried a ‘blue sky’ approach, inhibiting apoptosis of AML cells in order to unleash an alternative form of cell death called necroptosis. They found that the necroptosis cell death pathway was more effective at killing AML than apoptosis.

In preclinical trials, they used a combination of drugs – birinapant, a new anti-cancer drug, and emricasan, a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved inhibitor of apoptosis – to kill AML.

“It has been speculated that inducing necroptosis might be an effective way to kill cancer cells,” said Professor Silke. “Our work now demonstrates clearly it is a clinically feasible and safe approach.”

Dr. Brumatti suggested that since cancer cells often acquire resistance to traditional chemotherapy-induced apoptosis, this novel type of chemotherapy has the potential to be used to treat otherwise impossible to treat leukaemias.

These findings have just been published in the research journal Science Translational Medicine.

The Australian Cancer Research Foundation has supported WEHI by providing three grants, totalling AUD 5.5million towards cutting edge cancer research equipment and technology.

The original news post was published on the WEHI website. Images of the research team courtesy of WEHI.

Cancer researchers ‘switch on’ Natural Killer cells to fight cancer

Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) researchers, led by Dr Sandra Nicholson and Dr Nicholas Huntington, together with colleagues from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR), are investigating ways to ‘switch on’ our Natural Killer (NK) cells to fight cancer.

The researchers identified a protein ‘brake’ within Natural Killer cells that controls their ability to destroy their target tumour cells.

“Natural Killer cells exist to detect and then destroy any deviant cells in our bodies before those cells go on to develop into tumours or before infection spreads,” Dr Nicholson said.

“Natural Killer cells are a key part of our immune system they work by locating other cells posing a danger to health either because they are infected or because they are becoming a cancer cell,” she continued.

Our bodies are constantly and successfully fighting off the development of cells that lead to tumours – but when there is disruption to this process cancer is free to develop.

In their paper published in Nature Immunology, they showed that when the brake was removed in an experimental model, the NK cells were better able to protect the body against metastatic melanoma.

Natural Killer cells rely on a growth factor called Interleukin 15 (IL15) to activate. Dr Nicholson and Dr Huntington’s research has shown that an inhibitor protein made inside the Natural Killer cells limits the ability of the NK cell to respond to IL15 and therefore kill cancer cells.

By identifying for the first time how this protein inhibits NK cell responses, they now hope that a drug can be developed that will improve the response of NK cells to this growth factor and help patients fight cancer with their own immune system.

“This is about learning how to activate the NK cells of the individual patient and boost their immune system to tackle the disease,” Dr Huntington said.

“We are hopeful our research will lead to new immunotherapies that supercharge the body’s Natural Killer cells and maintain it in a highly active state to more efficiently and specifically fight cancer.”

The Australian Cancer Research Foundation has supported WEHI by providing three grants, totalling AUD 5.5million towards cutting edge cancer research equipment and technology.

The original news post including the YouTube video was published on WEHI website.