10th Anniversary Special Edition
Nov 9th 2004

Our November General meeting marked a
momentous day for Us Too! Brampton,
as the Chapter completed 10 years of successful
operation and support to the community.

The evening was full of surprises and great moments for
all members but specially for Chairman Fred Norris,
who has guided the group since its inception.

Unknown to Fred the steering committee had planned to honor him
on this historic occasion with a very special memento, reminding
him of his Lancaster Bomber days during the second world war.
And also unknown to him, Fred's daughters had been invited to
witness the proceedings.

Gerry Brunjes, our Treasurer took the floor and brought the spot light
to bear on the unsuspecting Fred in the midst of the following
powerful rhetoric, that left everyone moved and deeply touched:

(To skip directly to the part on Fred, scroll
down to the bold text)

"Mr. Chairman, Dr. Warde, Committee, Ladies and Gentlemen.
First, I wish to say thank you for your assistance in making Theatre Night last Wednesday
such a successful fund raiser.
With the generous assistance of so many of you, we added to the treasury.
And we had fun doing it, didn't we?

Good funding is vital in order for us to continuously improve the quality
of our efforts to promote PCa awareness and to help those who are stricken.
For example, we are looking to hold regular free PSA clinics in order
to bring awareness of this disease into better focus for unsuspecting men
and their families.

Also, please be aware that we will be expected to send a number of delegates
to the 2005 CPCN convention, to be held in the GTA next year, and
to be generous with our financial support of the convention.
This is because your group, Us Too! Brampton, is considered to
be one of the premiere support groups in Canada.

What we should aim to achieve in the future, will be impossible, without your help.

During the six years of my membership, I have seen our Chairman search for
volunteers among us for many endeavors, and far too often, in my opinion,
it's been like pulling hen’s teeth.

Bear with me a moment while I tell you a true story.
When I was 5 to 6 years old, the boy who lived next door to us caught
an obscure disease, which was never diagnosed. I caught it as well. He died. I didn’t.

Years later, I asked my mother, “Why did he die, while I remained alive?”
Her reply was, "Perhaps you were spared for a job you will be needed to do later in your life".
If raising 3 kids who have presented me with 9 grandchildren qualifies,
then I guess she was right. But, I'm still looking for my very special job,
70 years later. Perhaps my involvement with Us Too! Brampton is it.

I have come to believe that the secret path to a happy existence lies
in the old cliché, "Try to leave the world a little bit better off than you found it".
Don't you survivors agree that we may have been spared to put a little something
back into this existence? And I don't mean money alone; I mean effort and imagination.

"There is one very special man who has been an
inspiration for us in this regard"

His name is Fred Norris.
(Amidst much cheering and clapping Fred came over, and was seated facing the members)

Fred was born in Canada and moved with his parents to England when
he was seven years old. My math tells me that would be about 1932.

He was evacuated from London when war broke out,
and spent his mid teen years in Devonshire.

At 17, in the middle of the war, he volunteered for service
in the RAF, and became a flight engineer.

He was obliged to put his life on the line many times, flying bombing
missions over enemy territory and being shot at by anti aircraft
guns and enemy fighter planes. Fred flew these missions in Lancaster
bombers. You may have seen these amazing aircraft in the movie
"The Dam Busters".

As you can imagine, just getting off the runway in an aircraft
loaded with 20,000 plus lbs of high explosives was hazardous.
And he survived 33 such takeoffs and landings while
so many of his friends, acquaintances and fellow airmen did not.

How lucky we are. Here ladies and gentlemen, in our midst,
is a real live hero in the fight for freedom.

Now... You may or may not know that tonight is the 10th.
Anniversary of the first meeting of the Brampton US Too! group.

Your committee decided, on the membership's behalf, to honour
the man who has guided this group through its entire life span.

You see, after 33 missions over enemy territory, Fred learned
something...he was allowed to live doing a job where many have
died, and as a result, he works selflessly to leave the world a
bit better off than he found it.

On the occasion of this tenth anniversary, we have a gift for you
Fred, from YOUR very grateful support group.

Please accept this gift as a token of our sincere gratitude for a job well done!

(At this point, a beautifully framed print of a Lancaster bomber was unveiled behind Fred)

The inscription reads ......

‘Presented November 9th 2004 to Fred Norris
by Us Too! Brampton,
In gratitude for 10 years of leadership through
countless circuits and bumps'.

"Outbound Lancaster crossing the East Coast."

A short power point presentation then followed, with a Lancaster
control panel, pictures and Lancaster sounds.

Portrayed above are many of the pictures that capture the mood and
moments of the historic day.

AUDIO & SLIDES DOWNLOADS

AUDIO:

Gerry Brunjes' Speech Honoring Fred Norris
Fred's Response and Lancaster sounds
Fred Reads Dr. Evan's Letter

"Dear Fred,

"Radiation Therapy for Prostate
Cancer - New Approaches"
"Radiation therapy for Prostate
Cancer - New Approaches"
Dr. Padraig Warde
Associate Director Radiation Medicine Program
Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto

This superbly delivered and highly informative session by Dr. Padraig Warde
attracted a crowd of some 75 members, wives and guests.

Dr. Warde provided a magnificently executed session, engrossing and informative, while translating
the technology into the realm of the lay man. Using detailed color images, animated graphics
and embedded videos in his presentation Dr. warde educated members on much of the new
radiation technology, helping to eliminate any "fear factor " about the high technology involved.
This session would have greatly benefited any new members opting for Radiation.

Dr. Warde explained how many of the exciting new Radiation approaches and
breakthroughs were offering hope and better outcomes. Opening the session Dr. Warde
explained that Radiation damages the chromosomes of a cell, prevents cell division
and growth and affects both cancer and normal cells. He then went to making a
profound statement "that given enough dosage he could cure any cancer - the problem
was keeping the patient alive afterwards". This is exactly the goal made achievable
by the new Technologies - Increasing the dose of radiation to the prostate while
protecting the normal healthy tissues around it.

In the past, the main diagnostic tool was X -Ray imaging while Radiation used standard
fields and shapes. Over the last 10 - 15 years, however, many "New Toys" have become
available to the medical professionals.

Today's sophisticated diagnostic tools include CT scanning and MRI, while radiation
techniques have evolved to Individualized field shapes and arrangements and Intensity
Modulated Radio-Therapy (IMRT). Thus each treatment is tailor made specifically to the
individual. These recent advances in Technology coupled with the use of computers
make possible very precise delivery of the Radiation to the cancer cells while shielding
the healthy cells. The new radiation techniques not only permit increasing the radiation
dosage to the target area but further enhancements can locate and track precisely,
in 'real time' the prostate position during and at each session. Accuracy of the order of a
few millimeters was thus achievable and was getting better as Technology improved.

Amongst the topics Dr. Warde covered include: IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiation therapy)
and 3-D conformal Radiation Therapy, a technique which allowed to conform the volume
irradiated closely to the cancer to be achieved.

He went on to presenting statistical data and results of treatment with these new approaches.
The data showed that new Technologies have Reduced toxicity of RT while at same
time allowed dose increase by up to approximately 25% [PMH 1996 : 65 Gy;
PMH 1997-2000: 75.6 Gy (16.3% increase); PMH 2001-2004: 79.8 Gy (22.8% increase)]
Further improvements are envisaged in the future as benefits from the latest research are deployed.

Dr. Warde touched on much of the leading edge research, taking the audience
into 'Technologies Front Yard' and explaining the shape of things to come.

Dr. Warde fielded many questions and concerns from the audience. On the issue of funding
he cautioned that funding for Prostate Cancer Research remained a major concern,
specially in view of the many recent cut backs. Members are encouraged and advised to
write to their MP's to support Prostate Cancer programs. The intent, clearly, is not to detract
from other programs but rather to uplift Prostate Cancer Research to an equal footing.

For those who missed this superb session or want to revisit the information we are pleased
to offer secure download of the slides as well as a streaming Audio files of the session.

"Radiation Therapy for Prostate
Cancer - New Approaches"
by Dr. Padraig Warde