OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE HELD AT 7:00 P.M. ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2006
The topic is "Surviving Prostate Cancer - 10 years and Beyond" Our speaker is Dr. Mary Gospodarowicz, Professor and Chair, Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto. She is currently Chief of the Radiation Medicine Program and the Acting Medical Director of the Oncology Program at Princess Margaret Hospital.
Dr. Gospodarowicz is well known to our members after speaking at past monthly meetings. After her talk, Dr. Gospodarowicz will entertain your questions. You can be assured of a highly informative and educational evening.
Please send your questions for Dr, Gospodarowicz to Fred Norris, Chairman, 905-877-8092 or e-mail fred.norris@ustoo-brampton.com .
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 is free.
 

DECEMBER 13, 2005 ANNUAL CHRISTMAS SOCIAL AND POT LUCK
Over 50 members and guest showed up at the event and just had fun relaxing, chatting and enjoying an excellent buffet meal!
Although we did not have live entertainment, spirits were high nonetheless, as music CDs lent a festive air to the evening, with Ian Smith ably acting as DJ. Members and guests certainly enjoyed the camaraderie and spirit of it all.
The evening closed with the our customary lucky draw with many a wonderful prize being won. Many thanks to all those who donated the prizes for the Raffle.
A special note of thanks to Jack Dainton for the gift certificates. Jack's daughter Debra once again contributed a hand-crafted Afghan for the 1st prize - the winner can certainly be proud of this fine piece!

A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
We are about to start a New Year - our 12th year of operation - and we will continue to fight the male practice of not caring about their bodies until it is too late. The Seminars and Wellness Clinics that we attended in 2005 clearly showed that most men are still afraid to discuss Prostate Cancer and fail to take the necessary measures to know what is happening inside their own bodies.
As we all know, this disease generally does not offer any symptoms until it is quite advanced. The best hope - as we all know NOW - is for every man over the age of 40 to schedule yearly checkups with his family doctor INCLUDING the dreaded digital examination and a PSA blood test.
But how do we get all of the middle-aged males in Brampton to listen to this advice? We must continue to carry the message to them and to make every effort to get them to listen and rid themselves of shyness and of that part of the male ego which says, "It can't happen to ME! Real men don't GET sick!"
Unlike Canadian men, Canadian women have made their voices heard and the vast majority are now able to read the signs and are willing to undergo regular Mammograms (much more uncomfortable than a finger and a needle, gentlemen!) And if there is any doubt, most women will seek treatment promptly.
One of the results of this vastly different approach towards awareness and personal wellness is that funds for research into Breast Cancer continue to increase, early detection efforts are increasingly effective and more cures are being effected. In short, the battle against Breast Cancer is being waged more and more effectively.
Can we achieve the same results in our war with Prostate Cancer? Yes, but we at Us Too! Brampton must continue our efforts to get the message out and attempt to break down all of the Barriers before us.
A Happy, Healthy, New Year to all of us!
Fred Norris, Chairman, 905-877-8092 or e-mail fred.norris@ustoo-brampton.com .

2005-2006 GUEST SPEAKERS & EVENTS
Tuesday February 14, 2006 - Irene Lange-Mechlen will be our guest speaker; her subject will be announced later.
Tuesday March 14, 2006 - Tanya Giaquinto will update us with the latest news on "Nutrition" [Subject to final confirmation]
Future Speakers - We have an exciting line up of speakers and events coming up for 2006. Please watch for announcements. Your suggestions are always welcome!
Mukul Luthra, Speaker Committee, 519-853-4075, e-mail mukul.luthra@ustoo-brampton.com .

NEW MEMBER MEETINGS NOW ONE-ON-ONE INITIAL COUNSELING
Anybody newly diagnosed with PCa and their partners, if possible, can arrange to meet privately with Bob Vandrish or a member of his committee at a convenient time and location.
Contact: Bob Vandrish, New Member Coordinator at 905-791-5595, Sean Butterly, Special Consultant at 905-454-4237 or Fred Norris, Chairman, at 905-877-8092 e-mail fred.norris@ustoo-brampton.com .

FINANCE
OK. So that's it. 2005 is over and done. For some of us it was a good year. For others, not so good. Even bad for some. Whatever your personal situation, only you can analyze how 2005 treated you: good, bad or indifferent. Your Steering Committee will be conducting a similar analysis of Us Too! Brampton's past year over the next few weeks in order to identify our weak spots and areas of potential improvement.
On the face of it, it would appear that we had a good year. Or did we?
The big questions are, "Do we need to change? Do we need to improve? If so, in what ways?"
Financially, we have stayed the course. By that I mean that we have managed to stay solvent, which is a wonder in itself when we consider our achievements during the last twelve months.
Many thanks to the members who attend monthly meetings and contribute the requested $2 that helps to cover room rental costs.
Big expenses were incurred last year, such as our Free PSA clinic at Shoppers World, which was so ably orchestrated and conducted by Ian Smith; the purchase and administration of multimedia equipment for general meetings, as well as the web site, both run very professionally by our master computer engineer Mukul Luthra; this Newsletter, run, edited and beautifully presented by Jim Dorsey (despite the fact that he spends 85% of his time in the U.S.).
And let us not forget the fact that we still provide free refreshments to the membership at the general meetings. So, a big thank you to Tilly Netherton. The list goes on with other committee members who faithfully contribute their time and energy. Please keep up the good work, all of you.
Our expenses are covered by Member Subscriptions, the "Golf Tournament" (well done by Peter Barhydt), the "Theatre Night" (Editor's note: Well done, Gerry Brunjes!) and generous Member Donations.
I often think that our Telephone Committee, those men and women who call you each month, are under-appreciated and are deserving of a big hand for the job they do of reminding you of general meetings, etc.
Note that we will be honoured this month with a talk by Dr. Mary Gospodarowicz, a top medical administrator at Princess Margaret Hospital. So, a pat on the back to your Speaker Committee for a great job of securing top notch speakers, all of which can be heard as often as you or anyone in the world could want, via the Web Site.
However, the biggest problem your committee has is getting a feel for what the membership would be interested in us pursuing. I mean, for example,"What would you like to hear in the way of speakers"?.
Above all, a great big THANK YOU to Fred Norris who so ably manages to keep the committee under control.
We hope you had a very Merry Christmas and that the New Year brings you Happiness, Low PSA scores and Good Health. Take good care (and let's have those suggestions ... please).
Sincerely, Gerry Brunjes, Finance, 905-791-3043, e-mail gerry.brunjes@ustoo-brampton.com .

AWARENESS
A reminder that the Steering Committee has received proposals for two fundraising and "Awareness" events.
The first proposal is for what is popularly known as a "Bowl-a-Thon". Given the lead time for organizing, this could take place in late February or March. The suggestion is that you recruit your family members and friends or acquaintances to form teams of six.
When we raised the idea of a bowling fundraiser at the December potluck meeting, only six or seven members indicated any interest. To be really successful we need to fill the bowling centre - can we make up forty teams for such an event? The Chrysler Drive Bowling Centre is for 10-pin bowling. This is not to suggest that all of our members can wield a heavy ball for a 10-pin event. But surely we can get the younger members of our families to participate? There are alternate locations that offer 5-pin bowling. Do members have any preference for 5-pin or for 10-pin?
The second proposal would be for a walk around Chinguacousy Park along the lines of other events such as the Do-it-for Dad event in Toronto on Father's Day. Our event might take the form of groups or individuals walking around Chinguacousy Park say from 10:00 to 4:00 p.m. on a Saturday in springtime. Again this would be a fund-raiser for your Us Too! Brampton Prostate Cancer Support Group.
We will welcome your comments and suggestions at the January meeting about supporting either or indeed both of these proposals.
Members who would like to volunteer to assist in our community awareness efforts should contact: Ian Smith, Awareness Coordinator, 905-454-3880, or e-mail ian.smith@ustoo-brampton.com or Fred Norris, Chairman, 905-877-8092 or e-mail fred.norris@ustoo-brampton.com