OUR NEXT MEETING IS AT 7:00 P.M., TUESDAY OCTOBER 12, 2004
"Survivor's Night" is back by Popular Demand. Six survivors tell their stories of how they have survived Prostate Cancer. In the true spirit of caring, sharing and camaraderie, members of our support group will share their experiences at this event. This is the perfect opportunity to bring friends or family members that you know are having problems. You can assure any potential guests that there is never anybody "in your face" at our meetings, and no salesmen will call.
If you think that you have had a unique experience or that you can offer insights or strategies that could help our present and potential members to cope better, it's not too late to volunteer to be one of our speakers. Simply 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.
 

SEPTEMBER 14, 2004 MICHELLE FLAX "What Now? Coping with the Diagnosis and Treatment of Prostate Cancer"
This top notch presentation was attended by more than 70 members, a record turnout, especially considering that an important hockey game went on that same night. Michelle talked about the psychological and emotional issues that individuals and couples face once they have received the diagnosis of Prostate Cancer. Her talk focused particularly on coping strategies that are useful in dealing with these dilemmas.
Michelle stressed the fact that by coming to Us Too!, our members are already taking advantage of one of the most important coping strategies there is - reaching out to others for support and using the resources that the community has to offer. The most important factor in dealing successfully with the diagnosis is coping with the anxiety and the many 'what ifs' that are created.
It is this common factor that draws our members together. Michelle elaborated on the many ways of coping with this anxiety, including distinguishing between 'useful' and 'useless' worrying and the concept of 'delayed' worrying. She also emphasized the importance of breathing, explaining that we have no way of going into our sympathetic nervous system other than through our breathing. To illustrate this important concept, Michelle demonstrated deep breathing techniques and relaxation exercises designed to reduce anxiety levels with member participation. She illustrated her talk with many real life examples and stories. She also addressed the sexual concerns of both partners and offered advice on dealing with those concerns and stressed the importance of communication.
The second part of her talk - the question and answer session - was highly interactive. Michelle succeeded in drawing the best from the audience, with many of our members opening up on their concerns and fears and elaborating on their experiences. This was exactly what the event was intended to do.
Dr. Michelle Flax is focussing jointly with Dr. Stanley Flax on a program which she has created to help those diagnosed with prostate cancer. Leaflets explaining the program were distributed at the event.
This first event of our new season turned out to be an excellent evening! Those of you who missed it will be pleased to know that recordings of the session may now be downloaded from the 'Audio Downloads' Section of our web site. Audio CDs of Michelle's session are under process and will soon be available at the Brampton Library. Call numbers will be announced once they have been assigned.
In his opening remarks, Chairman Fred Norris talked about the recent CPCN Conference in Calgary that he, Ian and Gerry attended. The conference was an excellent exchange of ideas and views with other groups and proved to be very informative. It is proposed that the conference be held in Toronto next year and if that happens, many more of our members may be able to attend.
There is an urgent need for more volunteers to join the Steering Committee and the Phone Committee. If you would like to become an active participant in your Support Group's operation, please contact Fred Norris. We can promise you no pay plus lots of conversation and personal satisfaction in a valuable job well done. Your experience and compassion could prove invaluable to somebody suffering from PCa.

2004-2005 GUEST SPEAKERS
Our speakers and events for the remainder of the 2003 - 2004 season are:
Tuesday, November 9th, 2004 - Dr. Mojtaba Beheshti will make a presentation on Erectile Dysfunction.
Tuesday, December 14, 2004 - Our Christmas Social - Buffet Dinner, hopefully featuring the guitars of Bruce and Josh.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005 - Dr. S. D. Sehdev, Oncologist, will discuss the latest in chemotherapy treatment.
Tuesday, February 8, 2005 - Robert Bell, William Osler Health Center CEO, will speak on "The Hospitals - The Old and the New" (To be Confirmed)
We are actively seeking interesting speakers to fill the balance of our 2005 year. Your suggestions are always 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, October 26.
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
As you may recall, two events were planned for "Awareness Week", being the presentation at the Civic Centre Library on the 22nd and the Free PSA Clinic at Shopper's World on the 25th. Seven members of the general public attended the awareness presentation at the Library along with six of our own members.
Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control, it was necessary to postpone the planned PSA clinic. In my opinion we should emphasize the importance of these clinics as a means of reaching out to the general public. I hope to announce a schedule of clinics for 2005 in the next couple of months.
At that time, I will be looking for volunteers to assist in registering clinic participants and in speaking with passersby who may request further information., Please contact Ian Smith, Awareness Coordinator, at (905) 454-3880, or e-mail ian.smith@ustoo-brampton.com.

FINANCE
You may or may not have heard that through the benevolence of "The Bramalea Live Theatre" group, we have been given an opportunity to sell potentially every seat in the Lester B Pearson Theatre for a live performance on Wednesday, November 3rd. I say potentially because BLT has extended the same generous offer to other organizations like ours, but so far none of them has requested any of the 460 seats. This means that we have carte blanche at this time to sell as many tickets as we can, with all proceeds to go to Us Too! Brampton.
The play is Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple" (Female Version) which promises to be a hoot and a half - a really fun evening. Curtain time is 8:00 p.m. and seating is undesignated: First Come, First Choice of Seats. Many of us are familiar with the excellent professional productions that these local actors present, and this certainly promises a gala evening away from our boob tubes. As on previous occasions, there will be refreshments after the show where the actors, technicians and BLT personnel will join us for our comments and critique.
The price is only $15 per ticket, which is an excellent price for a night out at a live theatre. Tickets will only be sold by our members; none will be sold at the Theatre box office. So our job is to fill as many seats as we can. With every dollar helping our treasury, we could not ask for a better situation. It goes without saying that your committee needs your help. If every member of our group sells just four tickets, we will be in an 'ASO' (all sold out) situation.
This is your biggest and best opportunity of the year to get together with some other nice people, have some fun, and do your bit to keep Us Too! Brampton one of the most effective support groups in Canada. Don't miss out on this fun night of the year, with great entertainment.
Please phone me, e-mail me or write me at 8 Duke Road, Bramalea, L6T 3K1 to obtain a supply of tickets. I will get them to you by mail ASAP. I want to sign YOU on as a caring sales person in this endeavour.
- Sincerely, Gerry Brunjes, Finance, (905) 791-3043, e-mail gerry.brunjes@ustoo-brampton.com.
 

US TOO! BRAMPTON 5th ANNUAL CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT, JUNE xx, 2005
Last year's Golf tournament, held at the Acton Golf Club, was a huge success. Peter Barhydt was our Golf Convener and he did a wonderful job, supported by an experienced Golf Committee and tireless volunteers.
As you know, Peter has volunteered to serve as the Golf Convener for the 2005 event. He is actively seeking volunteers.
Contact: Peter Barhydt: (905) 459-8516, peter.barhydt@ustoo-brampton.com OR Fred Norris: (905) 877-8092, fred.norris@ustoo-brampton.com.

OUR WEB SITE CONTINUES TO EVOLVE - www.ustoo-brampton.com
Besides maintaining the equipment used to make our meetings easier to hear and remember, Mukul Luthra, our Multimedia Specialist, continues to keep our web site up to date. Past events, coming events, links to other web sites, archives of past meetings and more can be found there.
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, (905) 873-8367, e-mail mukul.luthra@ustoo-brampton.com.