OUR NEXT MEETING IS AT 7:00 P.M., TUESDAY JUNE 8, 2004
Our Seasonal Pot Luck and Social! Just kick back, relax, chat and have a buffet meal. The evening will feature live entertainment on guitars and vocals by professional talents Bruce Laing and Josh Crocker from Georgetown. Bruce and Josh have played together for many years at spots in and around the GTA and will be recording a CD in July. They have put together a program specially for Us-Too Brampton to liven things up!
Don't forget it's pot luck time - please bring along your favorite recipe! If you have any suggestions for the event please contact: Fred Norris, Chairman, (905) 877-8092 or e-mail fred.norris@ustoo-brampton.com.
We continue to meet in Room #2, The Terry Miller Recreation Center, 1295 Williams Parkway at the southwest corner of Williams Parkway & Bramalea Road. Parking is free.
 

MAY 11, 2004 "STRESS MANAGEMENT" WITH ARLENE DALTON
Some 54 members and guests attended Arlene's very informative and 'Relaxing' session, designed to help members cope with stress. Central to the evening was an excellent presentation on Stress Management. As part of a self assessment exercise members filled in a questionnaire with some 20 questions to gauge their vulnerability and susceptibility to stress.
Similar to last year, Arlene masterfully conducted a 'Yoga' exercise to enable members to experience a relaxation response.
Some of the questions this session answered were:
* What Is Stress?
* What Does the Stress Reaction Consist of ?
* What Are Some Of The Common Symptoms Of Stress ?
* What Are The Causes Of Stress?
* What Are Some Ways To Master Stress?
Arlene provided a handout that included the presentation foils and a list of stress exhaustion symptoms.
You can download the “How vulnerable are you to Stress” questionnaire and the "Stress Exhaustion" Check List and Symptoms files from our web site: http://www.ustoo-brampton.com. In addition, we will make downloads of the Presentation Slides available if possible. Unfortunately no Audio recording for this session is available.
 

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
Very frequently we are forced to review our membership and cost incurred in preparing and mailing the monthly bulletin. We have advised in the past that the cost of producing and mailing the bulletin is over $1 per member per month and still it continues to rise. Sadly, our records show that while 160+ members have received the Newsletter each month, only 113 members have paid the $10 subscription fee for this fiscal year.
This is unfair to the members who have paid their dues as those who have chosen not to contribute have received this bulletin for the past 9 months at the expense of their fellow members. Even if everybody pays the modest $10 fee, Us Too! still subsidizes the Newsletter. As our fundraising efforts have yielded little this year, we must cut costs somewhere. Accordingly, we must advise that the June Issue will be sent to all 167 members, but anyone who has not paid the $10 by June 30th will be removed from the list. If you wish to avoid this fate and continue receiving the Newsletter and calls from the Telephone Committee each month, please mail your subscription fee to Us Too! Brampton c/o G. Brunjes, 8 Duke Road, Brampton, ON L6T 3K1.
To the unpaid members: I remind you that at some point you sought guidance and comfort from someone in our group. This advice was freely given as we all understood the difficulties that you were facing and that guidance and comfort was provided to you by volunteers, who give freely of their own time month after month.
A new season begins in September and we will once again be asking each member for $10 to support the continuation of the Newsletter. In the past we have put out subtle reminders to members that the fee is due, but I think that 10 months is more than enough time to have paid and the grace period will cease on June 30th, 2004.
Rest assured that should you ever require our assistance in the future, we would welcome you back without any reservations. Our mission as always is to provide comfort to Prostate cancer victims and their supporters.
Fred Norris, Chairman, (905) 877-8092, e-mail fred.norris@ustoo-brampton.com.

2003-2004 GUEST SPEAKERS
Our speakers and events for the remainder of the 2003 - 2004 season are:
Friday, June 25th, 2004 - The 2004 Relay for Life will be held at The Brampton Fairgrounds on Heart Lake Road. The event will start Friday evening, June 25th and end on Saturday morning, June 26th.
We do not hold meetings in July and August.
Tuesday, September 14th, 2004 - Michelle Flax, a Clinical Psychologist with a private practice in Toronto, will present: "What now? Coping with the Diagnosis and Treatment of Prostate Cancer." Michelle has extensive experience in dealing with couples and individuals who have had to face such life-altering crises.
Tuesday, November 9th, 2004 - Dr. Mojtaba Beheshti will make a presentation on Erectile Dysfunction.
Note: The presentation on 'Gleason Scores' by Dr. John Srigley, Credit Valley Hospital, originally scheduled for the Feb. 04 session will most likely be rescheduled later this year. We are actively seeking interesting speakers to fill the 2004 portion of our next year. Your suggestions are welcome.
Don Grant, Speaker Committee, e-mail don.grant@ustoo-brampton.com

NEW MEMBER MEETINGS
New Member meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday of each month at Suite 304, 57 Mill Street. The next scheduled meeting will be held between 6:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 22.
Please be sure to phone ahead to confirm your attendance and receive directions to the meeting. Please contact: Sean Butterly, Special Consultant at (905) 454-4237 or Chairman, Fred Norris, at (905) 877-8092 e-mail fred.norris@ustoo-brampton.com.

AWARENESS
Us Too! Brampton held its first free PSA clinic at Bramalea City Center on Saturday, 24th April 2004.
The clinic attracted 80 men ranging in age from 30 to over 90. Staff from Canadian Medical Laboratories (CML) performed the sampling.
Us Too! Brampton gratefully acknowledges Dr. Stanley Flax's invaluable support and contribution towards the free clinic. Dr. Flax will review the PSA results as they become available. Ten of the 80 men tested were advised that they need follow-up. These ten men ranged in age from 50 to 79.
The clinic was possible due to the efforts of 15 Us Too! member volunteers who were ably coordinated by Ian Smith. These individuals' efforts are much appreciated.
Us Too! Brampton also gratefully acknowledges and thanks the following sponsors and supporters: The Rotary Club of Brampton, Astra Zeneca, the management of The Brampton City Centre, VON / Peel and Canadian Medical Laboratories. The City Centre branch of Tim Hortons kindly supplied coffee and other refreshments. Photos of the event will be posted on the web site when they are available.
For more information about our first PSA clinic and to volunteer for future clinics, please contact Ian Smith, Awareness Coordinator, (905) 454-3880, e-mail ian.smith@ustoo-brampton.com.
 

FINANCE
As our year draws to a close, it behooves us to reflect on our plusses and minuses over the past twelve months, in order to determine trends and issues for the future.
The year began on a somber note with the realization that our group meetings could no longer be held in the hospital auditorium. We were crippled further with the thought of having to rent premises at an exorbitant cost, which our finances would be hard put to withstand. One solution would be to raise our yearly subscription, which we try to keep as a last resort.
The suggestion that we should ask our meeting attendees to subscribe was not accepted lightly by your committee, until we were reminded that we all had to pay parking fees at the hospital, and that a small donation at the door would simply be a substitute. Fortunately, there is no parking fee at the Terry Miller meeting hall, and the member donations have covered the room rental adequately as a result. We thank you for this ungrudging support. We have heard nothing in the way of dissatisfaction.
Similarly, the meeting room at Mill Street has been a precious find, although there was no financial easement or subsidy to offset the cost of room rental for the two evenings needed each month. New member meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday of the month and Steering Committee meetings the evening after, all year round.
However, the costs of the free PSA clinic on April 24th at Bramalea City Centre, were covered adequately by donations from the Rotary Club, AstraZeneca and private members, with enough left over to cover the Mill Street meeting room costs for the year.
Some future needs are becoming increasingly obvious in order for us to carry on our operations in the same manner. For instance, a good storage cabinet must be provided at Terry Miller to relieve Mukul Luthra of the burden of storing our audiovisual equipment in his home and carting it back and forth to each monthly meeting. I am sure this has been a great nuisance to Mukul...who is to be thanked for his dedication. Also, we might have to purchase our own large projection screen to replace the one that Mukul so kindly loans us for each meeting. Again a chore for him to transport, along with those loud speakers which are too big for the trunk of most cars. And....the coffee pot also needs a home to make life easier for Tilly Netherton, our tireless refreshment lady!
Our major expenses continue to involve our Newsletter copying, postage, and other distribution costs, which are basically funded from the yearly membership subscriptions. As Fred points out, it is necessary that we continue to request unpaid members to ante up because we have no wish to request a higher membership fee.
Trends for the future point at the necessity for us to work even harder to increase awareness of Prostate Cancer and of our existence in the community. Free clinics may well be continued, with appropriate fund raising efforts preceding them.
We will endeavor to acquire top notch speakers for the monthly general meetings, and to provide free refreshments. Any suggestions from the membership are welcome, (there is no such thing as a bad suggestion), and will be presented to the committee for consideration. SO...please contact any Steering Committee, or Telephone Committee member with your ideas and thoughts.
Financially? Well, after all is paid....we are still in the black. For now.
- Gerry Brunjes, Finance, (905) 791-3043, e-mail gerry.brunjes@ustoo-brampton.com.
 

US TOO! BRAMPTON 4th ANNUAL CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT, JUNE 21, 2004
The golf committee has been actively working on the agenda for this program. Like last year, this year's event will be held at the Acton Golf Club, an attractive course neatly tucked away on the edge of the Niagara Escarpment. The course plays through mature stands of oak, birch, maple and pine trees. For details visit their web site: http://www.golfnorth.ca/acton.html.
Registration will be at 8:00 A.M.; Tee off at 9:00 A.M.
The fee for this years event is $70 for individuals and $280 for a foursome and includes the day's golf, cart, lunch and prizes. We are actively seeking support in the form of cash donations and prizes. June 21st is fast approaching! To play, to donate a prize or cash, please contact: Fred Norris: (905) 877-8092, fred.norris@ustoo-brampton.com OR Peter Barhydt: (905) 459-8516, peter.barhydt@ustoo-brampton.com.

RELAY FOR LIFE - 2004
Once again, Us Too! Brampton is entering a team of ten to twelve walkers in this 2004 edition of Relay For Life. Each member is expected to raise at least $100 in pledges. (Last year's "half team" raised over $2,000 in support of Cancer Research!)
This year's Relay will be held at a new location, the Brampton Fairgrounds on Heart Lake Road, starting after dinner on Friday, June 25th and finishing on Saturday morning.
Even if you don't fancy a night out on the track, please sign up for the Survivor Reception and / or the "Survivors' Victory Lap" on the Friday evening. In past years, many of our members have participated and have always enjoyed themselves immensely. It's a chance to sit down with some wonderful people in a relaxed atmosphere. You will experience a wide range of emotions from gratitude to grief to triumph. Check the Canadian Cancer Society's web site at http://www.cancer.ca for further details of the event.
We have all benefited from Cancer Research in some way; I know that it saved my life, as I was fortunate enough to be treated by Dr. Juanita Crook. I consider this my chance to pay back and to try to make somebody else's life better.
So far, Denis Paris, Kenneth Clarke, Frank Connolly, Mukul Luthra, Ian Smith and Mike Loughnan have signed up to walk with me; we need more! All of our intrepid walkers are actively seeking sponsors; pledges of $20 or more will receive income tax receipts.
To join this year's Us Too! Relay for Life Team, to sign up for the Survivor Reception & Victory Lap, to make a pledge or to purchase a Luminary in memory or in support of a Cancer victim, call me: Jim Dorsey at (905) 453-3038, e-mail jim.dorsey@ustoo-brampton.com or see me at the June monthly meeting.

OUR WEB SITE CONTINUES TO EVOLVE - www.ustoo-brampton.com
Mukul Luthra, our Multimedia Specialist, continues to update our web site, even while he is far away in Southeast Asia training high-tech manufacturers. Of special interest this month is a new "Nutrition Guide" section that appears at the top of the first page. Check it out!
You will also find numerous audio & video downloads of past presentations as well as Adobe Acrobat versions of various past speakers' slide presentations and other materials. Photos of events of interest to the group are constantly updated. Thanks, Mukul!
Contact Mukul Luthra, Multimedia, (905) 873-8367, e-mail mukul.luthra@ustoo-brampton.com.