Us Too! Brampton Newsletter 3 Dec 2008

Our Next General Meeting will be held on TUESDAY, Nov 11th at 7:00 PM

Our Year End Christmas Social, Pot Luck and Lucky Draw with Sandy Hawley

Sandy Hawley is one of the greatest jockeys Canada has ever produced.A brilliant athlete and an ambassador for the sport of Thoroughbred racing,Sandy set new standards for jockeys and distinguished himself with his clean living, fierce competitiveness and an uncanny way with horses. Sandy will share with us his Cancer Survival Journey as our special guest.

Don't forget to bring along your favourite recipe for the Pot Luck ! Our Annual Lucky draw will be held as usual with prizes galore. Last year almost everyone went home with a prize ! If you have something you could donate as a prize please bring it along.

We look forward to seeing you in Room #2, The Terry Miller Recreation Center, 1295 Williams Parkway, at the southwest corner of Williams Parkway & Bramalea Road.Parking as always is free.

Last Meeting – Tuesday, Nov 11th, 2008

“Why is PSA Testing still Important” by Dr. Gerard Morton

Dr. Morton gave a very informative presentation on many aspects of PSA testing and its relevance to an audience of over 45 members, spouses and guests.

The topic came about as a result of member request - admittedly it had been a while we had a talk specifically on PSA. The closest talk focused on PSA was provided, several years ago, by the Director of Dynacare Labs and that was from the perspective of PSA Lab Testing methods. Dr. Morton opened his talk by explaining that PSA was a protein found in the seminal fluid and manufactured by the prostate to keep the semen liquid. A small amount could get into the blood stream and be measured as the PSA level. Recounting the history of PSA he described how it was first discovered in the 1960's by Dr. Hara researching the field of forensic science as a method for semen detection. It was during the early 80's ' that a link between PSA and Prostate Cancer was observed that led to PSA test evolution.

Dr. Morton provided insights as to the structure, source and generation of PSA, the prostate ducts, the mechanism by which it was passed from the prostate gland into the blood stream and the significance of Free and Complex PSA. During Prostate Cancer the Prostate generated less Free PSA than normal and ratios of less than 10% free to total PSA suggested a 50 % chance of finding cancer on biopsy whereas ratios of more than 20 % Free to total PSA suggested only a 10 % chance of finding cancer on biopsy. He also clarified that PSA could be elevated due to many reasons and that by itself a high PSA did not necessarily mean prostate cancer and conversely that prostate cancer did not always necessarily imply an elevated PSA. He discussed what was normal PSA, illustrating a PSA trend chart by age for a sample population. The talk then went into many details of the role of PSA testing in early detection, how by itself PSA had limited value in screening but became a useful tool in early detection when combined with other indicators such as DRE, age, symptoms, race and family history and its role in monitoring, prognosis and treatment response. Dr. Morton described the different staging classifications, explained Gleason score, the prognostic groupings and the different treatment options based on the risk group. He talked about salvage therapy, illustrating the management of rising PSA after treatment with many examples from real life.

A useful free tool developed by Sunnybrook available for use over the internet by anyone is the "Sunny brook Prostate Risk Calculator".
For those requesting a link to this tool - here it is:

http://prostatecancerinfolink.net/risk-prevention/sunnybrook-prostate-cancer-risk-calculator

We had an highly interactive Question and Answer session with many relevant questions coming forth. The Q& A session provided as much if not more detail as the talk itself on a variety of PSA aspects

Overall the evening went extremely well, despite the initial glitch of having been switched to a smaller room on short notice. On a brighter note we will be back to enjoying a fully renovated floor in our usual room (# 2 upstairs) at Terry Miller from our December meeting onwards.

If you would like to review the Audio and Presentation slides from this session, please visit our web-site and click the links provided at: www.ustoo-brampton.com

2008 Guest Speakers And Events

Tuesday, 9 December 2008 - Year end Pot Luck and Lucky Draw with guest speaker Sandy Hawley

Tuesday, 13 January 2009 - A presentation by the ‘Wellspring Center’
including The Healing Journey Program organized by Judi Perry Brinkert & Michelle Adamski

Financial Matters

This will be my last writing for the newsletter under financial. After over ten years of minding the groups financial affairs, I am handing over the office to Gary Foote, who will, I am sure, do an excellent job. I have little to report beyond noting the fact that 'Bramalea Live Theatre' have called it a day, and will no longer be in existence due to poor attendance at the theatre, no doubt due to TV and other competition.

Bramalea Live Theatre have been good to us over the last six or seven years or so, in that they gave us a theatre night for free. We were able to add several thousand dollars to our treasury as a result. Their contribution will be sadly missed. It now becomes important that the membership come up with some new fund raising ideas tohelp replace this loss. The contributions that 'Bramalea Live Theatre' have made in the past did much to support the awareness activity of our group.

Beyond that, thank you, the committee and membership, for supporting me in my little endeavors to help make "Brampton US TOO!" a worthwhile cause.

We have just registered the Us Too! Brampton team for the 2009 Relay for Life. Please consider getting involved this year. The Canadian Cancer Society continues to be a good friend to our group. They are always there when we need brochures or publicity for our events. It is important for us to support their efforts against our common enemy as well.

We want to make a much bigger splash this year, hence the earlier than usual start. Mike Loughnan, our resident ball of fire, is the chief instigator of this move. It is his opinion that all of our active members and their supporters should appear for at least the free Survivors’ Reception and the initial Victory Lap.

We have chosen the Brampton Relay for Life rather than the Georgetown event because the location is much closer for our members and we have found the facility better overall.

While the Relay for Life is based on walkers staying all night, we have decided to recognize the relatively advanced ages and the infirmities of many of our members by encouraging more of you to come just for the Reception and Victory Lap, departing with the sun. A few of the members may choose to stay the night, but the number willing and able to do so has declined every year since we first got involved.

Note that this year there will unfortunately be 30 Luminaries in our circle dedicated to our departed members. Note also that you can purchase Luminaries either in memory of loved ones who have succumbed to any form of cancer or in support of somebody still fighting.

Once again, I am personally unable to attend as Sandi and I are again involved in a car show in Lewiston, NY, but we will be there in spirit and we will make our donation as usual.

Your Steering Committee members have unanimously approved a third Cruisin’ for a Cure, to be held once again in Chinguacousy Park. The date will be either Sunday, September 13 or Sunday, August 30, to be determined by other events that might conflict with ours. We are getting started much earlier this year because we need to obtain more sponsorships from the general public to finance the “free” PSA tests. Given the state of the economy, this will be difficult, so we MUST start early.

Additionally, we have lost one of our two annual fundraising events. Brampton Live Theatre is sadly no more, so our Theatre Night is a thing of the past. We must accordingly look for other ways to raise money to pay for Cruisin’ for a Cure.

Note that despite all the promises, it appears that the Provincial Government will not be doing much to help reduce the need for our clinic. Therefore it is more important than ever that we continue to provide free PSA blood tests, especially to men who have been laid off and therefore cannot afford to pay for them.

If you can suggest potential corporate sponsors for Cruisin’ for a Cure, please contact me directly and we will approach them before January 1. ALL potential major sponsors set their budgets for charitable donations very early each year, so we must plan accordingly. Please do not be afraid to make suggestions. We will not use your name unless you wish us to do so.

Please remember that while it is far from perfect, the PSA test is one useful tool in early detection of Prostate Cancer. It can help to fulfill our primary mission of helping other families avoid the misery that our own families have all suffered in the course of our diagnosis and treatment.

CALL FOR VOUNTEERS

This year as always we are in need of volunteers. This often requires only a few hours of your time a month, but participation is essential to ensure the continued health of the organization. We need people to serve on calling committees to remind members of meetings and to attend and contribute to our monthly Steering Committee Meetings held this month on Wednesday, November 25th 7:00 PM, upstairs at Fortinos on Bovaird Drive just west of Chinquacousy Rd.

If you can commit even a few hours a month please speak to us at the next General Meeting or come out to our next Steering Committee Meeting. You will be more than welcomed and have a chance to further our goal of promoting Prostate Cancer Awareness and Research.

FUND RAISING

With the loss of the Theatre Night, UsToo! Brampton will need to come up with additional ways to help fund awareness events like Crusin’ For A Cure that together with the “Free PSA Tests” that we provide are a net cost to the group. If we could negotiate some early corporate sponsorship for the event, then that would certainly offset our need to raise more funds. As the event grows, sponsorship complete with additional volunteers will be essential to help make sure that we are still able to manage both financial and manpower requirements.

Gary Foote – Newsletter Editor 905-458-6650 or e-mail: gary.foote@ustoo-brampton.com

RECENTLY DIAGNOSED?

Contact Us Too! Brampton
If you have been recently diagnosed with prostate cancer and would like to talk to someone who has been there, please call ahead and we will arrange to meet you at a convenient time and place. Alternatively, come early to one of our monthly meetings and inform the front desk of your arrival. One of our counselors will welcome you and listen to your concerns. Our monthly meetings are held on the 2nd TUESDAY of each month except July & August but we accept calls all through the year. Family members or friends and supporters are welcome! There is no obligation to join anything. We have been there and we think we can help you deal with this very difficult period in your life. If you would like our support, please call any one of the following to obtain meeting dates and locations:

John Sleath, Awareness Coordinator, 905-456-9943, e-mail: john.sleath@ustoo-brampton.com
Sean Butterly, Counseling Associate, 905-454-4237

Regular mail costs us almost a dollar per person per month. Anyone who would prefer to receive this newsletter via e-mail should contact Gary Foote. If you already receive your newsletter via e-mail be sure to notify us if your e-mail address changes. Anti-Spam features occasionally stop the newsletter from going thru so if you don’t receive it for any reason please notify me and we’ll get you a copy somehow.

	Us Too! Brampton Prostate Cancer Support Group Canadian Prostate Cancer Network - Brampton Chapter
	Web Site: http://www.ustoo-brampton.com