OUR NEXT MONTHLY MEETING IS AT 7:00 P.M. ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2005
To kick off our 2005 - 2006 season, Dr. Stanley Flax will present a talk on "Incontinence". Dr. Flax is a long standing member favorite and a strong supporter of Us-Too! Brampton. He has lectured worldwide and is a renowned leader in technology with special interests in minimally invasive surgery, practicing both adult and pediatric urology. In his last appearance in September, 2003 Dr. Flax presented a very informative talk entitled "Radical Prostatectomy or Brachytherapy?". As is always the case when Dr. Flax appears, you can be assured of a very informative evening!
Please send any questions for Dr. Flax 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.
 

JUNE 14, 2005 POT LUCK and SOCIAL EVENING
No doctors this time - just a delightful evening with more than 50 members, wives and guests coming together for our seasonal Pot Luck and Social in the spirit of caring and sharing . The group enjoyed a sumptuous pot luck meal and the evening featured live music by talented Chris Dube of Brampton.
Chris enjoys singing and playing the guitar and was introduced to the group by member Bill Blance, who later joined Chris for a closing duet. The crowd tapped and sang along to their favourite country, folk and old time favorites as performed by Chris.
Thanks to all members and a special note of thanks to Chris Dube and Bill Blance for providing the entertainment.

A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
As our Treasurer reports below, we have managed to keep our heads above the water. As I experienced a short stint in hospital and was unable to attend the CPCN National Conference, members of the Committee rallied around and picked up the slack. The two members who attended the Conference said it was well worthwhile. The 2006 Conference will be held in Calgary next August, and we will be pushing to increase our representation there. So please consider spending a couple of days learning more about the Canadian Prostate Cancer Network, about Prostate Cancer and about your fellows throughout Canada.
Here in Brampton, we are very concerned about the fact that we do not seem to be able to get our local Urologists to recommend new patients to come to Us Too! for support. Our primary purpose remains to assist newly diagnosed patients and their families through the trauma of Prostate Cancer.
We are told that 191 prostatectomies were performed in Peel Memorial Hospital last year and yet our total membership did not increase in proportion. We must continue to spread the word and try to make the general population aware of this disease and of the support services offered by Us Too! Brampton.
We cannot force people to join our group, we can only ensure that they are aware that we exist to help them. Therefore, I ask all our members and their families to continue to spread the word and to talk to people about what we do.
If YOU have any suggestions as to how we might better reach or attract Prostate Cancer patients, please contact me or any other member of the Steering Committee. If there are better ways of increasing awareness and helping sufferers, we are open to them.
Fred Norris, Chairman, 905-877-8092 e-mail fred.norris@ustoo-brampton.com .
 

2005-2006 GUEST SPEAKERS & EVENTS
Our events for the remainder of the 2005 - 2006 season will be announced soon:
Future Speakers - As always, we are continuously seeking interesting speakers; your suggestions and recommendations for future meetings would be appreciated!
Mukul Luthra, Speaker Committee, 519-853-4075, e-mail mukul.luthra@ustoo-brampton.com .

NEW MEMBER MEETINGS FORMAT TO CHANGE TO ONE-ON-ONE INITIAL COUNSELING
Due to the loss of our Mill Street venue, the Steering Committee has decided not 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
As we start a new year, your Steering Committee hopes that you have had an enjoyable summer. This is an appropriate time to reflect on our past year's business ups and downs, with an eye for future improvements and changes for the better. Needless to say your committee members have not been asleep during the summer, keeping in constant contact, with some members meeting once a week, and arranging for future guest speakers.
The Terry Miller General Meeting location has been contracted for the new season, as always for the second Tuesday of each month. The rental rates have increased slightly, but we anticipate that the members' generous support at the door will again more than cover the cost. Last year cost the room cost $695.10, while you the members contributed $781.33 at the door. The excess helped to defray the cost of the refreshments that we enjoy at each meeting.
The Golf Tournament, member subscriptions & donations, the Christmas raffle, and last year's bank interest, (ha ha), added up to total cash receipts of $11,502.73.
Disbursements totaled $7,246.87. This includes conference costs, office & mailing supplies, equipment purchases, donations out and meeting costs. The excess of receipts over disbursements was therefore $4,255.86. Once again your generosity and the hard work of your committee volunteers are keeping the ship afloat.
We are hoping to put on a THEATRE NIGHT again in the next few months which would help a great deal toward providing a FREE PSA CLINIC again, as part of our ongoing awareness campaign. Because the clinic may cost up to $10,000 we cannot afford to relax our fundraising efforts if we are to provide this most worthy service to the community.
Well..., so much for the up side. If anything, I guess our biggest downside is the lack of new membership. Of course, we cannot go out and drag potential members in. It is a case of keeping the public informed of our existence and work, which is where you can help significantly through discussion and word of mouth. If every member introduced just one new member it would be a great step forward. With a local population of 300,000, our membership should be around 500, not 150!
P.S. A reminder that the annual subscriptions are due September 1st. Still only $10 for the year - no change from last year.... or from the past ten years for that matter. Please make cheques payable to Us Too! Brampton.
Sincerely, Gerry Brunjes, Finance, 8 Duke Road, Bramalea, L6T 3K1 905-791-3043, e-mail gerry.brunjes@ustoo-brampton.com
 

US TOO! 5th ANNUAL CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT - MONDAY, JUNE 27, 2005
The 7th Annual Golf Tournament held at Acton Golf Club on Monday, June 27th was once again a very successful day. The weather was ideal for the 82 golfers that participated and although the scores were very much better, we were unable to dethrone the existing champions. The golf committee worked very hard and gathered many prizes, which meant that everyone present received a good prize. Individual letters have been sent to all of our sponsors and prize givers, but we would like to add a note of thanks to all concerned and we hope that we will be able to hold the 6th Annual Charity Golf Tournament next year.
To become a part of next year's tournament, please contact any member of the Golf Committee: Peter Barhydt: 905-459-8516, Fred Norris: 905-877-8092, Morris Rambout, 905-793-8843, Jack Dainton, 905-793-8843, Sean Butterly, 905-454-4237 or Bob Vandrish, 905-791-5595.
 

AWARENESS
Arrangements for the group's second PSA clinic without charge to qualified applicants are well underway. All being well the clinic will be held at Staples Court in Brampton Shoppers World on Saturday 17th September.
I also propose to hold a bowling fundraising event at Brunswick Lanes on Chrysler Drive around the 19th or 26th of November. See if you cannot persuade, cajole or otherwise prevail upon your younger relatives to form teams of six players each for this event. The idea is to try and get the younger set involved in some of our activities, have some fun and at the same time raise funds for our group. I have already lined up my own team of six, so we only need thirty-nine more teams to fill the Bowling Centre. It is many more years than I care to remember since last I set foot in a Bowling alley (did I ever get reprimanded for using that term) and I am sure there are many accomplished bowlers amongst our group. So, sign up when more information is forthcoming. Hope to see you there!
Wally Seeley, the Executive Director of the CPCN advises, "...there will be a 4 page PCa supplement in the Globe and Mail on September 21st next."
Ian Smith, Awareness Coordinator, 905-454-3880, or e-mail ian.smith@ustoo-brampton.com .

2005 CPCN CONFERENCE, AUGUST 7 - 9, 2005
Attendance at the recent CPCN conference certainly justified the time and expense. Without exception, all the presentations were quite excellent.
Dr. Gerald Chodak, one of the founders of Us Too International, presented the keynote address entitled "Prostate Cancer: Where We've Been and Where We're Going". He established one of the recurring themes of the conference: that better-informed patients are key to effective treatment. In addition, he and other speakers suggested that doctors - both general practitioners and specialists - must become more open to other, often new, ideas and opinions. Other aspects of the treatment of prostate cancer must be recognised such as better predictors of disease progression. Many ongoing studies form the basis of clinical trials both in Europe and soon in Canada designed to suggest ways to reduce the incidence of "over-treatment" or unnecessary treatment of patients.
HIFU:
Some topics were less familiar than others. For instance Dr. Edward Woods presented a new treatment (in Canada) called High Intensity Focussed Ultrasound (HIFU) that complements rather than replaces hitherto standard treatments. In answer to some of the many questions from delegates, Dr Woods said that for the majority of younger patients present day treatments may be preferable. However for those patients with other risk factors such as age or other medical conditions, HIFU may be appropriate.
European experience with HIFU shows minimal side-effects. Collateral damage to adjacent tissue is minimized by extremely careful positioning of the ultrasound probe, the use of cooling fluid and keeping the patient absolutely still. This latter feature is facilitated by spinal rather than general anesthetic because the latter may still allow involuntary movement by the patient. The equipment that Dr. Woods described is so sensitive that it shuts down at the slightest movement by the patient.
The development of HIFU will be of interest to many survivors whose earlier treatment by radiation may have been unsuccessful as HIFU can still be used. While the cost of one of these treatments is presently around $17,000, that will surely decrease as competitive treatment centres and equipment become available.
Brachytherapy:
Presentations by Dr Juanita Crook and Dr Gerard Morton gave added insights into brachytherapy techniques. Dr Crook mentioned that the patient must be informed about different treatment options that may be applicable. She compared results using External Beam therapy and brachytherapy. She went on to explain the phenomenon of PSA bounce and to suggest that a temporary rise in PSA value is not a reason to rush out and try to counteract that rise, perhaps with hormone treatment. Dr Morton expanded on the techniques of Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy. He went on to explain how precise planning is necessary so that only the affected tissue is irradiated. He explained how the prostate gland does in fact move slightly over time making it necessary to plot the location of the tumour for each and every treatment. By so doing the technician may lessen the possibility of radiation damage to healthy tissue that would otherwise be exposed to radiation.
General Observations:
One major difference between this conference and last year's in Calgary was the 90-minute workshop session. Delegates from the various support groups made notes for submission to President Bob Shiell for the following day on topics ranging from group structure and meeting places to various activities undertaken by them. CPCN has committed itself to developing more consistency between the groups but without disrupting groups' individuality. Jim and I both felt that a lot more time could have been spent in the workshop session possibly in preference to some of the professional presentations.
On the final day, the first speaker was Irene Lange-Mechlen whose husband Rainer succumbed to prostate cancer in June, 2000. Hers was the most moving presentation. She held her audience delegates in rapt attention while she dealt with both the tragic aspects of Rainer's illness and the mundane aspects of her own side of the ordeal. Her speech was certainly applicable to any family that finds itself faced with any terminal illness. Irene is very active with the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada and writes a column on their web site. She invites anybody with a question "about prostate cancer or how it affects men and their families" to contact her at http://www.prostatecancer.ca/english/living/askirene/index.html or by telephoning her at (416) 480-5093. She has access to leaders in the many fields involved, who help her to answer questions on virtually any aspect of the living with PCa.
The CPCN's 3rd Annual conference is to be held August 6th to 8th, 2006 in Calgary. This year's proceedings will be available on DVD.
- Ian Smith
I agree with Ian's comments above. While we could write a book on the Conference, I must mention the following additional points of interest:
(a) MANY of the delegates were accompanied by their wives, who are actively involved in their chapters and in their husbands' treatment
(b) In most chapters, the sexes either meet separately or they meet together for half of the meeting and separately for the rest. The idea is that in most cases, neither victims nor their wives are going to be willing to open up in front of members of the opposite sex. Several of the chapters described their 'peer' meetings as resembling "Roasts"! No topic is too sensitive!
(c) Virtually all chapters sponsor information meetings open to victims, families and any other interested parties, sometimes only once year, sometimes more often.
(d) Admission is often charged for these public events as a means of raising funds.
(e) Chapters can purchase magnetic Blue Ribbon PCa awareness decals for car trunks at a nominal cost and sell them for $5 to raise funds.
(f) Blue wrist bands will also be available free from CPCN for resale.
(g) Impotence - On this subject that is so vital to men, several of the speakers suggested that Viagra or an equivalent should be started as soon as possible after treatment. This is to minimize long-term damage, not to restore full function quickly. Also mentioned: If you were having issues BEFORE PCa, you will almost certainly have even more issues AFTER treatment.
(h) Many people expressed regrets that they had to contract Prostate Cancer in order to meet so many great people! All were looking forward to August, 2006 in Calgary. PLEASE consider joining us there.
- Jim Dorsey

6th ANNUAL CANADIAN CANCER SOCIETY RELAY FOR LIFE
The Relay for Life 2005 was once again held at the Brampton Fairgrounds on Heart Lake Road, starting after dinner on Friday, June 24th and finishing twelve hours later on Saturday morning.
Us Too! Brampton members played their part, turning out in numbers for the Survivors' Reception to show their support for the cause. The survivors walked the Victory Lap to start the all-night relay, cheered by thousands of family members and other supporters.
As always, the 2005 Relay featured food and beverages, entertainment by live bands, movies and other activities that went on throughout the night. There was even a Kids' Activities Area, complete with Petunia the clown, arts and crafts, face painting and a host of other activities that kept them involved and entertained..
The use of the air-conditioned hall for the Survivors' Reception and for the entertainment was a commendable improvement over prior years and was certainly appreciated by all in view of the searing temperatures at this year's event.
At night, Luminaries lit the track by the thousands. Sadly the number of these candle tributes that are lit to honour those who have died and to support those who continue to fight appears to increase each year. The Brampton event is one of the several hundred Relays for Life held throughout Canada each year to raise both awareness and significant funds for the fight against cancer.
Going around the track at night is a thought-provoking experience - one might wonder how many more Relays for Life have to be run? Another 20 or 50 or more? One can only hope that the fight will go on until the battle against cancer is finally won.
Our thanks to all those who came to the event and to the Us Too! Team members who stayed and walked all night. (Editor's note: Special thanks to Bob Vandrish, who stepped in as Acting Team Captain in my unavoidable absence.)
- Mukul Luthra, 519-853-4075 or e-mail mukul.luthra@ustoo-brampton.com