Our new format

Our best meetings to date have emulated one at the 2002 (I think) M.D. Anderson Network meeting.  The approach is to have groups of 6 to 8 around a table with a facilitator and get to meet each other and learn of each one's cancer.  Our two meetings have been so successful we plan to continue that format.  The speaker will rotate from one table to the other and pick up on interests.  Then he or she will speak for 20 or 30 minutes and continue to include the group's spoken interests in the presentation.  We hope our September meeting will be about nutrition: can proper nutrition cure or prevent cancer?  Or can it alleviate cancer?  Join us. 

See you at the September meeting.  Jerry Bylander

Proposed November meeting:

Title: "What to Eat and Why for Future or Present Prostate Cancer Patients"
Speaker:  TBD

Program:  Can some diets prevent cancer?  Ameliorate it?  Our speaker will present the state of current thinking.  The accepted prostate cancer diet is the heart diet with soy added.  There are some questions about free radicals such as vitamin E or selenium, and how much dose is too much?

Date:  Tuesday Evening, June 7, 2005
Time:  7:30 pm - Program
Location:  Austin College Wright Center (Student Union Building, upstairs)
Title: "Meet the University of Texas Students Who Ride For Cancer "
Speaker:  Several cancer riders

Program: USToo!, Austin College, Grand Avenue Presbyterian Church, and Wilson N. Jones are sponsoring a group of 19 bicyclists from the University of Texas who will present a short program on cancer awareness.  These are the Texas 4000 For Cancer, an organization of 46 university students from all over the country, and will ride in two groups, an average of 75 miles a day from June 1 - August 9.  Their mission is threefold: raise money for cancer research, educate local communities about prevention and early detection, and instill hope through their message and activities.  They are stopping overnight, June 7, at the Grand Avenue Presbyterian Church and will talk to us at 7:30 pm about cancer awareness and some personal experiences.  There will be no fundraising activities at that time.

Attendees can expect a 15-20 minute "cancer awareness" presentation including a personal story given by one of the riders, information on testing and various other cancer related topics as well as brochures.  In addition the team would love simply to interact with those in attendance, hear their stories and share theirs.
The program is free and spouses are also invited.

Topic:  "Newly Diagnosed Prostate Cancer"
Speaker:  Dr. Steven Johnson

Program:   Dr. Johnson discussed PSA elevation, DRE, and your biopsy's Gleason score and how your doctor will make determinations and recommendations for therapy from these simple factors.

The meeting adjourned about 8:15 PM.

Jerry Bylander

Material posted here is intended for educational purposes only and must not be considered a substitute for informed medical advice from your own physician.

DISCUSSING YOUR PROSTATE CANCER

If you have attended the recent meetings, you already know the support group is moderating in a new mode.  This new model of pca discussion is centered on each individual sharing his situation, and paticular need of information.  We feel this is a better strategy.  Attention to each and all attendees, after all everyone is individually special, as each person will have to make their own differing decisions about their prostate problem.  If you have attended in the past you probably noticed that the seminar was a lecture based meeting, and they often became highly technical, and unfortunately out of the realm of many attendees.  Now having stated the meetings will be more user-friendly and more directed to your individual needs, that unfortunately does not make the technical issues moot.  I am now summarizing prostate cancer in these terms: SURVEILLANCE, STRATEGY, TREATMENT.  As you know the world of prostate cancer seems to be determined simply by PSA, DRE and the Gleason score of the biopsy.  Most men solely trust their doctors total advice on decision-making on just these three lightweight biological findings alone.  This group hopes to educate you into working with your doctor to get second opinions and for you to become educated enough to really understand their reported findings, their meanings and, most of all, for you to participate in the decision on the outcome of your life.......henri

Jerry Bylander, Editor