Note on the last meeting. We had an excellent meeting in January.  Dr. Johnson always does an outstanding job, but he outdid himself for this meeting.  He gave us an excellent description of cryotherapy.  You probably noticed that he is the only physician in the area to offer this somewhat less invasive therapy.

New plans to improve our outreach: 

Telephone tree:  Your board will start two new programs which are described below.  The first will be for us to establish a telephone tree.  At the next meeting those of you interested in the group continuing to meet will pick several names to call about the next meeting.  You will also find out if the callee needs a ride, since many of us don't drive after dark.  Your callee may also request to be removed from the calling list.  I will send a reminder list to callers the week before the next meeting along with the meeting announcement, as an aid to calling.  The N. Palm Beach USToo group has had great results from a similar program.  They have 70 to 80 members at every meeting.

One on one counseling:  We have always offered one-on-one counseling, but we want to use the advertising dollars from the off meeting months, to announce the fact.  I have included a proposed ad below for your consideration.

Medicare D update:  In the last Newsletter, I reported my flailing about finding a Medicare D drug plan.  Thanks to a referral by brother-in-law Bill,  I signed up with the Humana Prescription Drug Plan for $14.95/month.  I expect I will pretty much get what I pay for.  Insurance is supposed to be a fixed payment against an unknown loss.  I don't see how Med. D fits this requirement, and therefore must just be an entitlement program.

 Happy St. Pat.'s Day.  See you at the April meeting.  Jerry Bylander

Date:  Tuesday, April 18.  Social Hour: 6:30 pm, Program: 7:00 pm
Time:  6:30 pm - Social & Coffee  7:00 pm - Program
Location:  Classroom 1,  Wilson N. Jones, 500 N. Highland, Sherman, TX                              
SPEAKER: Dr. Tom Nuckols, Prof. Emeritus, Austin College                                                      TOPIC: “Doctor Patients Relations”

Dr. Nuckols will discuss how to interact successfully with your doctors, and how to ask them polite questions about your condition and available therapies.  You will enjoy this meeting, since Tom often speaks to local physicians about medical ethics.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:  Dr. Nuckols is active in a variety of local activities: he serves on the Mental Health and Mental Retardation Board as well as our US Too! Texoma board.  He is member of Rotary International and has traveled widely.  In particular he joined a Rotary group to India to help abolish polio and to Vietnam to help with prosthesis supply.  He is a well known presenter to various local, national and international groups.

New Meeting Plans:  We plan to establish a telephone tree to help get the word out.  We will ask those who want us to continue meeting, to take some names and call before the next meeting.  Also a week before the next meeting we will send volunteers a copy of the list and a meeting notice.  We also be asking call recipients if they need a ride, since driving after dark may be a problem

As always the group does not recommend any particular treatment, therapy, physician, or hospital. US Too! Sherman is a prostate cancer group formed for the purpose of sharing information, education, and mutual support.   

US Too! Texoma Prostate Cancer Support Group

n      NEW PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT—

USToo! Texoma- a prostate cancer support group- is instituting a new program of one on-on one discussions between a group member and newly diagnosed prostate cancer men or men whose therapy has failed as indicated by a PSA doubling time of less than a year.  To arrange a meeting please call our coordinator, Henri, at 903-463-2101 or after hours at 903-463-6128 or e-Mail at henrylee51@sysmatrix.net.  Those of us who have been there before can help you to work with your doctor to reduce your anxiety.  We can also discuss the reasons for our particular choice of a therapy and about our outcomes, whether the therapy was radiation, surgery or other.  We will also use our experiences to help you with personal and embarrassing problems arising following therapy.

As always the group does not recommend any particular treatment, therapy, physician, or hospital. US Too! Sherman is a prostate cancer group formed for the purpose of sharing information, education, and mutual support.

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SPEAKER: DR. STEVE JOHNSON.  He is a board certified urologist with offices in Sherman and Denison

TOPIC: “CRYOTHERAPY FOR EARLY PROSTATE CANCER”

DR. Johnson discussed the technique of prostate cryotherapy as well as the associated cure rates associated with this treatment.  He is the only urologist in Grayson County offering prostate cryotherapy for patients with prostate cancer. 

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:  Dr. Johnson begins his 10^th year of private practice in Grayson County this year.  In 2005, Dr. Johnson was honored nationally as one of only 16 urologists in the country chosen for the inaugural American Urological Association leadership class.  He is a past president of the Texas Urological Society and been the first urologist to introduce many new technologies to Grayson County.

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

About EPCA:  An article in the Prostate Net newsletter, "In the Know" about EPCA observes that the EPCA test can help determine if you have cancer when the PSA is misleading.  For those of you who periodically undergo the dreaded spring biopsy due to an abnormal PSA, this test might offer some relief (however Henry tells me that Dr. Johnson believes the tests gives a large number of false positives).  The May 2005 issue of "Cancer Research" reports the results of a clinical study.  The results have since been revalidated according to the newsletter.  The test was found to correlate with existing prostate cancer 90% of the time.  However all tests have "bad in the good" and "good in the bad" results.  A 90% correlation would suggest a 10% bad in the good results (if I have this straight).  How many false positives are not reported apparently since there were no cancer free patients in the sample.  The FDA is expected to approve the test in as soon as two years.

 Jerry Bylander, Editor