Jan 2002     Newsletter  

NEXT US TOO MEETING - TUESDAY JANUARY 8, 2002
CAMPUS AUDITORIUM, WILLIAM OSLER HEALTH CENTRE, 7:00 - 9:00 P.M.
BRAMPTON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, 20 LYNCH STREET, BRAMPTON, ONTARIO.

SPEAKER - R.N. MARY JOAN POPE
We are honoured to have Joan Pope from the Sunnybrook Health Centre discuss "Helping You Help Yourself." Her talk will contain four topics: "Information about My Treatment, Managing My Pain, Managing My Fatigue, and Information about Community Resources to Help Me at Home." The content of her talk will provide patients and families with helpful tips and strategies to assist them in the management of symptoms. Mary would greatly appreciate feedback from the group at the end of her talk. Please fill out the questionnaire provided.

WHAT'S AHEAD
We now have a full schedule booked through to April 2002, thanks to the excellent work of Chairman Fred Norris. Finance Officer Gerry Brunjes has come up with another play, titled "The Wild Guys," which is scheduled for February 1st at Lester B.Pearson Theatre. More on this later in this newsletter. We will also have a regular meeting on February 12th when Dan Christante from Body Wise International will talk about The Immune System. Our March meeting will hit a topic close to home when Dr.David Saul will discuss "Erectile Dysfunction." The April, May and June topics were not confirmed at press time, but we have some ideas that we would like you the members to discuss. Also possible: Another Survivor Night, which was very popular last year; a computer night, when you can see what's on our web site and what we have planned for new members; and finally, a yoga demonstration. All these are possible. Let us know what you prefer.

NEW MEMBERS
In 2002 the new member meetings will be held on the fourth Tuesday of every month or two weeks after our regular scheduled get-togethers. All new member meetings will be held in the auditorium and commence at 7 p.m. During 2001 a record "53" new members joined our ranks compared to 35 in 2000. The following joined us in December; Max & Iola Balmer, John & Barbara Chamberlain, Gangadhar & Nisha Deshpande, Jim & Agnes Gentle and Bill & Joan Hewitt.

WEB SITE
Once again we would like to mention that, like our bigger brother in Manitoba, YOU can get this newsletter right off the web site. Just go to the "newsletter" link, open it and print it. Want to put a face to your steering committee? Just scroll down to the "Meet the Committee" link, click on it and follow the instructions.

FINANCES
Gerry Brunjes has asked me to remind you that your $10 membership fee is due. We have received payment from 90 members, which leaves about 60 still owing. If you can't make a meeting and wish to remain on our mailing list, you may send a cheque made out to US TOO - Brampton to: Gerry Brunjes, 8 Duke Rd., Brampton, Ont. L6T 3K1. On the other hand, if you would like your name removed from our mailing list, please let us know.. Debra Dainton, member Jack's daughter, donated an afghan which we raffled off at our Christmas meeting and raised over $100 for our treasury. A special thank you to Debra for her work on behalf of US TOO - Brampton. This year's winner was Jim Muldoon's wife Maureen.

"THE WILD GUYS"
Bramalea Live Theatre (Formerly Bramalea Little Theatre) has donated 200 tickets for the play "The Wild Guys" to be performed at Lester B. Pearson Theatre on Friday, February 1st. Curtain time is 8 p.m. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to help reach our goal of opening an information room dedicated to prostate cancer in the Brampton area. After this humorous show, we have been invited to meet the cast in a separate room, where light refreshments will be served. We will also have an "awareness" table in the lobby. The ticket price is $14 each, of which the entire proceeds will be donated to our treasury. The tickets are available and we will be looking for members to purchase and sell the entire 200. 
How many can you take?  The play coordinator is Gerry Brunjes ( 905 - 791 - 3043 ).GET YOUR TICKETS ON JANUARY 8th OR SOONER. LET'S GET BEHIND THIS WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY AND MAKE IT ANOTHER  US TOO - BRAMPTON SUCCESS STORY.

 FROM THE CHAIR
As we enter a new year, I would like to reflect back on a very successful year for US TOO - Brampton.This is a direct result of working with many dedicated and committed members who make my role as your Chairman much easier.
I would like to thank the members of the Steering Committee and the many volunteers for donating their time for such a worthy cause and also to those members who instead of time have added financial support. We are truly proud of several accomplishments this year, which I would like to list in no particular order:
 1. We have had really good monthly speakers to convey information to our membership.
 2. Our awareness program is ongoing this year, instead of once a year as in the past.
 3. Our web site gets better every year, listing good links and other reliable information.
 4. Our membership now totals close to 150 and we have a computer program in place to ensure there is a follow up system to communicate with each member. 
 5. We have a separate night to meet new members in a quiet setting, instead of at our regular meetings.
 6. We have a kit to hand out to new members with the latest medical info, so they can make a sound decision from the treatments available.
 7. Our fund raising also gets more attention and better results.Theatrical plays are now an annual event and we have another one coming up in February.
 8. Our annual charitable golf tournament has improved each year since our start three years ago.
 9. Our telephone committee has attempted to not only inform members of meetings, but to find out the health of each member contacted.
OUR GOALS FOR 2002.
 1.Our main objective is to establish a prostate cancer information centre in Brampton.
 2.To be registered as a charitable organization.
 3.To ensure there is a further improvement in our relations with each member.
 4.To set up a digital projector program for new members.

    Fred Norris - Chairman.