D I A R Y - J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 9SITE STATS ... NEWS ... FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Hit count Dec 1998: 19,576
Number of distinct hosts served: 3,374For those of you who've been keeping up with the site and the diary you'll realise that this is the first time I have had a chance to update this page since October! This has been due to a lot of other work commitments (I'm an artist) and the fact I have moved to Scotland after a long and drawn out search for somewhere new to live.
This change is one of many currently happening for me and ties into having to consider what will be happening to the site in the long term. As many of you know the site was started by myself and Marie Nally for the 1995 Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and some of our initial aims and objectives from that time are now starting to happen. However, following Marie's death in July last year maintaining the site has become an increasingly difficult task - Marie had an unbelievably thorough knowledge of the UK health system and all the Breast Cancer organisations listed on the site. As a patient and campaigner for the rights of women whose lives are affected by Breast Cancer she was exceptionally well placed to deal with all the email etc. that we received to the site. However, inevitably as time passes it is increasingly difficult for me to remain up to date with all the changes that are happening with organisations and Breast Cancer related news. I have updated the feedback page with messages received over the last few months - but again this is part of the site that I am now planning to 'fade out'.
I am currently still dealing with the email I receive to the site but I am referring many questions onto relevant organisations (I must thank Lyn Duffus here for her help with much of the email I receive). On a more positive note many organisations we listed now have there own web sites, since 1995 Bacup, Breakthrough, Cancerkin, Europadonna, Marie Curie Cancer Care and Women's Nationwide Cancer Control Campaign have all come on-line. I am slowly linking through directly to these sites from the contact list rather than trying to maintain an ever increasing number of pages. The Bacup site is particularly comprehensive and has a useful list of links to other UK sites.
Finally I'm very glad to report that both Breast Cancer Care and the UK Coalition launched their own sites in October '98 and with time I hope that these organisations will be able to provide useful email contacts - in the meantime I will continue to answer email to this site but please be patient if it takes me a while to get back to you.
Nina Pope 28th of December 1998
(UKBCA@somewhere.org.uk)
* * * This month I heard from Dr Geoffrey Farrer-Brown about the exhibition of paintings by Susan Macfarlane called A Picture of Health. The catalogues for this exhibtion are still available from a new address, and the exhibition is still touring, below is an updated list of forth coming venues:
- Jan 1st - March 31st - Poole, Dorset (Museum Service) 3 different venues: The Museum Library, the foyer of the Poole Hospital and the Cancer Care Centre.
- April 5th - 16th - Manchester, Culture Health and Arts World Symposium. This international symposium is organised by Arts for Health, Manchester Metropolitan University with the sponsorship of UNESCO.
- April 18th - June 18th - In Holland.
- June (dates to be confirmed) - Royal College of Physicians, Regents Park, London.
- Sept 27th - Nov 7th - Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton.
- Nov 8th - Dec 30th - Regents College, Inner Circle, Regents Park, London.
* * * Bristol Breast Cancer Campaign members have decided to terminate the group. The departure of some members combined with the creation of the UK Breast Cancer Coalition (which the BBCC decided to join) meant that we felt that it would be difficult for us to continue to operate independently. We hope that the Coalition's representative for the South-West region will take over the organisation of activities, such as the Breast Cancer Awareness Month events in October, in Bristol. We wish her and the Coalition all the best in their future activities.
See their page for news of their donation of books and a great image from one of their events.
* * * The Women's Environmental Network (WEN) is calling on women in the UK to participate in ground-breaking research into the possible links between breast cancer and environmental pollution. Putting Breast Cancer on the Map asks women to complete a questionnaire and produce a map of their local community. The results will show the regional incidence of breast cancer and local sources of environmental pollution and may help highlight potential causes of breast cancer. The research is funded by the National Lottery Charities Board of England.
Helen Lynn, project co-ordinator, explains some of the project's goals: "We are seeking responses from as many women in the UK as possible and we are working closely with breast cancer support groups. We want to find out why, for example, incidence of breast cancer is up to 40% higher in some parts of the country than others. We need women throughout the country to participate and get other groups and individuals involved in their local areas. The detailed report of our findings will be produced in mid-1999.
To obtain a copy of the 32 page project guide, send a 50p/or international equivalent, stamped address A4 envelope to:
PUTTING BREAST CANCER ON THE MAP
The Women's Environmental Network
87 Worship St
London EC2A 2BE
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F O R T H C O M I N G E V E N T S
The National Breast Cancer Coalition (USA) will hold the Second World Conference on Breast Cancer Advocacy, 11 - 14 March 1999, in Brussels. For more information on, visit the NBCC's website.
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Thanks to Easynet for hosting these pages.About these pages: Contact Nina Pope - UKBCA@somewhere.org.uk