Us -Too! Brampton General Meeting 
Sep 13, 2005

Dr. Stanley Flax
spoke on
"Male Urinary Incontinence"

Our seasons opening was off to a great start with an excellent presentation on
'Male Urinary Incontinence' by Dr. Stanley Flax. The talk was matched by an
equally impressive turnout - as the picture below testifies the TMC hall was
packed to near capacity with a crowd of over 80 members, wives and guests!

Dr. Flax captured our members attention by his graphical pictures and explanations
put across with gentle humor. In a nut shell, his talk detailed many of the causes and
remedial measures ranging from conservative to surgical to counteract incontinence
following various main stream treatments for prostate cancer.

Dr. Flax covered numerous surgically correctable problems and offered information
and advise related to incontinence following Radical Prostatectomy, Brachytherapy,
Radiation etc.

Amongst the conservative treatments he discussed the positive benefits of life style
interventions such as reduction in body weight, reducing alcohol and caffeine intake,
quitting smoking and also the benefits of behavioral therapy such as bladder training
and pelvic floor muscle training. For mild incontinence he discussed the use of a variety
of Drugs and the application of Peri-Urethral Injections and how they worked.
He expanded on the workings of Urethral slings for mild to moderate cases.

The last part of his talk dealt with the treatment of moderate to severe urinary incontinence
by the use of surgically implanted devices such as an Artificial Urinary Sphincter.
Numerous study data was included at various stages of the talk showing the results and
success rates for the presented treatments.

Dr. Flax summarized his talk with this hopeful message: 'While Incontinence posed a major Quality
of Life issue there was appropriate level of help and treatment available depending on whether
it was mild, moderate or severe. Conservative and Surgical procedures were effective and safe
and complications relatively uncommon'

The talk connected well with the audience as evident by the significant member
participation in the Questions and Answer session. Members openly shared their
experiences and concerns as they received advise from Dr. Flax.

Some of our newest members are young and fit men in their mid forties. Amongst other
advise, in response to certain queries, Dr. Flax cautioned, that while being younger and
fitter meant quicker and easier recovery the difficulty for such patients lay in
becoming 'overactive' too soon after surgery. 'Kegels' were recommended before the
surgery but were to be avoided immediately after while the catheter was in place.
While gradually regaining activity it was essential to allow adequate rest for
sound healing to reduce any risks of developing leaks.
The entire session showed 'support-group-therapy' at its best!

For those who missed it and for others who asked we are pleased to offer, with
Dr. Flax's permission, the slides and the recording of his entire talk for download.
Please follow the links below or copy and paste the URLs provided:

AUDIO: 'Male Urinary Incontinence' 
[URL: http://ustoo-brampton.com/Audiostreams/Flax/Incontinence.rm]
[7,293 Kbytes, Talk time: 00:59:24]
Down load times: 
Approx.: 40 Mins (56KBaud)
Approx.: 8 Mins  (384KBaud)
[URL: http://ustoo-brampton.com/Audiostreams/Flax/Incontinence.rm]

SLIDES: 'Male Urinary Incomntinence'
[URL:http:www.ustoo-brampton.com/Incontinence.pdf]
{secure Acrobat File (.pdf) Pages 36, Size 3,084 Kbytes}}

Audio CDs are expected at the Brampton Library shelves by late October 05.

Announcements were also made at this event regarding the upcoming Free PSA clinic
being held at the 'Shoppers World' in Brampton on Saturday the 17th Sept.

Thanks to all members and a special note of thanks to
Dr. Stanley Flax for a very informative evening.