Windsor Essex Prostate Cancer Support Group
Helping Prostate Cancer Survivors and Their Families Through Support and Education
Just a reminder that we don’t hold Support Group meetings in July or August. Our next meeting will be Tuesday, September 10th @ 7:00 pm at Hospice of Windsor-Essex County. Further details will follow.
Newly diagnosed and need support now? Follow this link to our website:
For our June 2019 Support Group Meeting, we welcomed our guest speaker Tim Brady, Pharmacist and Owner of Brady’s Drug Stores in Essex and Belle River.
Tim was elected to the Ontario Pharmacists Association (“OPA”) Board of Directors as a District Representative in June 2016. He has been a member of the OPA Insurance Committee since 2013 and has been a Board member with the Essex County Pharmacists Association since 2005 (he served as President from 2010-12).
A graduate of Ferris State University with a BS in Pharmacy, Tim is the pharmacist owner of two independent pharmacies in Essex County. Prior to opening his own pharmacy, Tim worked locally as a Pharmacist for a number of years.
Tim was the lead pharmacist in the “We Can Quit” program for smoking cessation, and a member of the 2011 Rotary District 6400 Vocational Training Team to East Timor.
His talk covered topics such as “Medical Cannabis as an Aid in Prostate Cancer” and the latest medicines related to Prostate Cancer, Incontinence, and Erectile Dysfunction. Our thanks to Tim Brady for this down to earth talk on Sex, Life, and Prostate Cancer.
For our May 2019 Support Group Meeting, we welcomed our Guest Speaker Diane Mulcaster, RN BScN MHS, Training Facilitator for Windsor-Essex Compassion Care Community. Diane is a Registered Nurse with over 40 years of experience working in both hospital and community settings. She completed a Master’s Degree in Health Studies at the age of 59 and believes in lifelong learning and growth. Currently Diane works with the Windsor Essex Compassion Care Community and conducts various types of group workshops.
Diane’s topic was “Strategy to a Happy Life”. Her talk touched on coping with anxiety, loneliness, and depression as it relates to Prostate Cancer patients.
For our April Support Group Meeting, we welcomed our Guest Speaker, Dr. Siyaram Pandey, Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Windsor. He obtained his PhD from Jawaharial Nehru University (Delhi) and the Center for Cellular & Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India, did postdoctoral training at McGill University, worked at National Research Council as associate and Research Officer before joining the University of Windsor in 2000.
Dr. Pandey’s research is focused on apoptosis (cell suicide), which is central to various aspects of human health including neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. He has published more than 84 research articles, and has 5 patents. He was the President of Natural Health Product Research Society of Canada from 2013-2015, is currently the Founder Director and CSO of the Windsor Botanical Therapeutics Inc. Toronto. His group is known for their discovery of the novel natural anti-cancer compound Pancratistatin, and Dandelion Root extract which is in clinical trial for blood cancer patients. His group in collaboration with Dr. Arnason’s lab at the University of Ottawa has pioneered discovery of different novel natural extracts with very selective anti-cancer activities.
Teaching and research are Dr. Pandey’s passion. He has been awarded Teacher of the Year award two times (2004 and 2007), Mayor’s Innovation Award, City of Windsor 2017, Alumni Award for Distinguished Contributions to University Teaching 2007, Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Samman, 2016. This award is given to non-resident Indian at the House of Lords, London UK by NRI Society of India. Faculty of Science Performance Award for 2014, and Indian National Science Academy (INSA) Medal for Outstanding Young Scientists 1992. This is India’s most prestigious national award for young scientists and only 1-2 people receive this award every year in Biology.
Dr. Pandey and his team have been working since 2005 on pancratistatin, demonstrating its cancer-killing properties. He spoke to us about his team’s ongoing research into the anti-cancer effects of Dandelion root and lemongrass extracts in human prostate cancer; interaction with standard chemotherapeutic drugs, and the possibility of using them as adjuvant with standard chemotherapy.P
Our thanks to the students and staff of Kingsville Public School, home of the “Kingsville Cobras”, for their generous donation of the proceeds of their Movember Spirit Day! We will ensure that your funds are put to good use in the local fight against Prostate Cancer. Great job!
After our February 2019 Support Group Meeting was cancelled due to poor weather conditions, we were very grateful that Stacey Dusik agreed to join us as the speaker for our March 2019 Support Group Meeting. Stacey is the Operations Manager of the OR and PACU at Windsor Regional Hospital, Met Campus. Stacey has been in a management role at Met campus for the last 4 years. She was involved in the development of the DaVinci robotic surgery program at WRH Met campus. She was able to work with the surgeons, nurses, Cancer Centre, Men’s Health Program and Intuitive (robotics company) to develop a robotic surgery program for the community of Windsor/Essex County. Previous to her roles at WRH, Stacey was at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. Her role was that of a first assistant and assisted Urologists in over 3,000 robotic surgery cases. Recently, Stacey was able to successfully complete her Master of Nursing Leadership at the University of Windsor.
For our November Support Group Meeting, we welcomed our Guest Speaker, Veronica Bryksa, MS, MC, CGC, CCGC Mrs. Bryksa is a cancer genetic counsellor with the Erie St. Clair Regional Cancer Program, based out of Windsor Regional Hospital in Windsor, Ontario. She completed graduate training in genetic counseling at Wayne State University, as well as her M.S. in Basic Medical Science. Mrs. Bryksa is certified with both the American Board of Genetic Counseling and Canadian Association of Genetic Counsellors (CAGC). She helped establish the cancer genetics program in Windsor after working at London Health Sciences Centre Medical Genetics Program and Hutzel Women’s Hospital. Mrs. Bryksa is active in the CAGC, volunteering with the Education Committee and the Central Regional Representative on the CAGC Board of Directors.
Mrs. Bryksa spoke to us about The Cancer Genetics Program and understanding genetic testing and counselling for hereditary cancer. If you are interested in Genetic Counselling, speak with your health care provider. They will refer you to the Cancer Genetics Program located at Windsor Regional Hospital. For more information, visit their website:
www.WRHcancerprogram.ca
The Erie St. Clair Regional Cancer Program is responsible for the quality and delivery of cancer services for the areas of Chatham-Kent, Sarnia/Lambton and Windsor/Essex. It is a network of healthcare professionals and organizations involved in cancer prevention and care.
For our October 2018 Support Group Meeting, we welcomed our Guest Speakers, Dr. Tamara Siddall, Regional Primary Care Lead and Ben Parent, Manager, Cancer Screening & Prevention for our Erie St. Clair Regional Cancer Program. They spoke to us about three organized screening programs in our region (breast, cervical, and colorectal), as well as the new Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) for colorectal screening that will be launched early next year, offering a more user friendly procedure than the Fecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT) that we have been using to date.
Their main message: Take advantage of the programs available.
Speak to your Health Care Professional……GET SCREENED.
The Erie St. Clair Regional Cancer Program is responsible for the quality and delivery of cancer services for the areas of Chatham-Kent, Sarnia/Lambton and Windsor/Essex. It is a network of healthcare professionals and organizations involved in cancer prevention and care. For further information, visit their website:
https://www.cancercareontario.ca/en/cancer-care-ontario/programs/regional-cancer-programs/erie-st-clair
For our September Support Group meeting, we welcomed our Guest Speaker, Andrea Simone, RN, BSN, CURN who engaged our group in a lively discussion about post-treatment rehabilitation for Prostate Cancer Patients experiencing erectile disfunction and/or urinary incontinence. The good news is that there are a number of medications, devices and medical procedures that can help. Don’t be shy……talk to your medical professional.
Our thanks to Andrea for joining us.
Natural Health Services is changing the way Canadians access cannabis. They are a medical cannabis clinic operating under Health Canada’s Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR). Working with Canada’s top federally regulated Licensed Producers. They provide their patients with free access to experienced medical professionals.
Lisa provided the meeting attendees with an overview of how their service works, including the initial appointment with one of their physicians, a subsequent education session, your selection of a Licensed Producer, and the medication delivery process. We learned that NHS can assist with understanding the many details and questions surrounding the various strains of medical cannabis, dosing, and methods of consumption. For more information, visit the Natural Health Services website through the link below, or call them at (844) 262-0942.
Thank you Lisa!
