OUR NEXT MONTHLY MEETING IS AT 7:00 P.M. ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2005
Dr. William Orovan, Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery, McMaster University, Faculty of Health Sciences, will present an exciting new procedure: High Intensity Focused Ultrasound - 'HIFU'.
HIFU is a relatively new treatment to Canada that complements rather than replaces standard PCa treatments. HIFU will be of interest to survivors whose earlier treatment by radiation may have been unsuccessful as HIFU can still be used. It may also be appropriate for patients with other risk factors such as age or other serious medical conditions.
Dr. Orovan's clinical and academic interests are in Urological Oncology, an area in which he has published and continues an active practice. He has been recognized by both medical and non-medical organizations for his contributions to the community.
Please send your questions for Dr. Orovan 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.
 

SEPTEMBER 13, 2005 DR. STANLEY FLAX
Our season opened with an excellent presentation on 'Male Urinary Incontinence' by Dr. Flax. His talk drew an impressive turnout - the hall was packed to near capacity with a crowd of over 80 members, wives and guests!
Dr. Flax captured our members' attention with his pictures and with explanations put across with gentle humor. In a nutshell, his talk detailed many of the causes and remedial measures ranging from conservative to surgical used to counteract incontinence following various mainstream treatments for prostate cancer. He covered numerous surgically correctable problems and offered information and advice related to incontinence following radical prostatectomy, brachytherapy, radiation etc.
Among the conservative treatments, he discussed the benefits of life style adjustments such as reducing 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 explained the application of peri-urethral injections. 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. Study results were included to describe success rates for the various treatments presented.
Dr. Flax summarized his talk with this hopeful message: 'While Incontinence poses a major Quality-of-Life issue, there is appropriate help and treatment available whether it is mild, moderate or severe. Conservative and Surgical procedures are effective and safe and complications are relatively uncommon'.
There was significant member participation in the Question and Answer session that followed. Members openly shared their experiences and concerns as they asked advice from Dr. Flax. In response to queries from younger members, some in their forties, Dr. Flax cautioned that, while being younger and fitter can mean quicker and easier recovery after surgery, there is danger in becoming 'overactive' too soon after surgery. 'Keigel exercises' are recommended before the surgery but should be avoided afterward while the catheter is still in place. It is essential to allow adequate rest during healing to reduce the risk of developing leaks. The entire session showed 'support-group-therapy' at its best!
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Flax has given us permission to make his slides available for download along with the usual recording of his talk. Check our web site: http://www.ustoo-brampton.com . Audio CDs should be available from the Brampton Library by late October.
Thanks to Dr. Flax for a very informative evening.

2005-2006 GUEST SPEAKERS & EVENTS
Tuesday, November 8 - Dr. Andrew Bayley will discuss 2 topics - The Importance of Clinical Trials and Image Guidance in Radiation Therapy.
Tuesday December 13 - Year end Christmas Pot Luck and Social and with luck some live entertainment.
Tuesday 10, January 2006 - Dr. Mary Gospodarowicz will speak on the topic "Surviving Prostate Cancer 10 Years and Beyond".
Future Speakers - We have an exciting line up of speakers and events coming up for 2006. Please watch for announcements. 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
Due to the loss of our Mill Street venue, the Steering Committee has decided not to schedule any New Member Meetings for now. Instead, 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
My eldest son's father in law had a favorite saying: "Times change, and so do fish". What he meant by this of course was, that as we tell our fish stories time after time about the lunkers that we have caught, or especially about the ones that got away, our yarns get greatly exaggerated. And so, I find, do most events that take place in our lives. For the most part, exaggeration of our personal historical events doesn't really matter that much, especially as our stories are usually quickly forgotten. However, there are some areas that do matter, and must be truthfully explained and related. One such area is your personal experience with Prostate Cancer and related events.
It is now over eight years since I had treatment. My mind is quite hazy now as to all the indignities that I was subjected to, and the order in which they occurred. But what is most important here is that, as mentioned, "Times Change" and for that matter so too do "Prostate Cancer" treatments. Subsequently, the available treatments and their results have changed, thank goodness for the better.
Those of us who have been in the Us Too! group over the long haul have also seen tremendous and dramatic change in the content of our monthly meetings. The advent and incorporation of computer technology by our media specialists is the most noticeable. We have excellent presentations by our speakers who prepare graphic illustrations to improve our understanding of their subject matter.
The actual presentations and the accompanying graphics are then made available to the rest of the world via our much admired web site. What's more, our local libraries are given CD's containing the audio portions of these talks, making it possible for people without computers to hear them.
All our services, to our members and to the community at large are not without cost. Much of it is voluntary labor of course, but the costs are covered mainly by your yearly subscriptions and generous donations.
So: If you have not already paid the $10 yearly subscription request, I would humbly request you do so ASAP. While "Times and Fish" may change, the annual subscription hasn't! Please make cheques payable to Us Too! Brampton and send them to Gerry Brunjes, 8 Duke Road, Bramalea, L6T 3K1
Theatre Night: Note. The "Bramalea Live Theatre" group is once again honouring our cause with a "Theatre Night" to be held on Wednesday, November 2nd, 2005 at 8 p.m. at the Lester B. Pearson (City Centre) Theatre. Tickets are only $15.00. As always, seating is "first come, first seated."
The play is a comedy called "McGillicuddy's Lost Weekend" by Keith Roulston.
The facts - Hamhock's Police Chief, Ezekiel McGillicuddy, has picked the wrong weekend to go fishing. The wealthiest woman in town is sure her only son has been kidnapped, and a crusading female Councilor is dogging Zeke's every step. Throw in a neighbour with serious romantic designs, and the laughs pile up at an alarming if not illegal rate, as Zeke tries to get away from it all.
I will supply tickets by mail if needed, and tickets are available on consignment.
Sincerely, Gerry Brunjes, Finance, 905-791-3043, e-mail gerry.brunjes@ustoo-brampton.com .
 

AWARENESS
Our Second Free PSA Clinic was conducted on Saturday, September 17, 2005 at Shoppers World Mall in Brampton, sponsored by Canadian Medical Labs and Us Too! Brampton. Supporting me at the clinic were two phlebotomists and a clerk. Within the first hour 15 men had lined up to have their PSA checked. A total of 77 men were processed by the clinic.
Passersby expressed much interest in the proceedings but some also expressed surprise that the clinic was looking for men in the 40 years age group. I heard comments such as "you've got to be kidding". Some men changed their minds and signed up when they heard the rationale for the target age group, but other younger men "didn't want to know".
The precise outcome of the clinic will be available soon; however, preliminary information shows that slightly under 10 % of the individuals tested had elevated PSA levels. This appears historically consistent with similar clinics held at other locations in Canada, including our first clinic in April, 2004.
Like last year, the individual PSA readings will be reviewed by Dr. Stanley Flax and referred to respective family doctors as needed. A beneficial spin off of the clinic is that some recently diagnosed men who showed up for testing may need counseling as early as possible - the clinic served as a way to bring our group's existence and our support function to their attention.
Us Too! Brampton thanks Canadian Medical Labs and Dr. Stanley Flax for their invaluable support of the clinic. Your suggestions and comments are welcome.
- Ian Smith, Awareness Coordinator, 905-454-3880, or e-mail ian.smith@ustoo-brampton.com