No Support Group Meeting In February

Tuesday February 14th – Happy Valentine’s Day! Our usual evening meeting will be canceled so that everyone can spend the evening with someone special in their life. 

A message from Garry:

Hello All

Your Steering Committee hopes that everyone is doing well and had a great Holiday Season as well as enjoying the relatively mild winter so far. The nasty stuff is knocking on our door this week.

Guy Jolin

First of all, we want to pass on that our dear friend, Guy Jolin, is currently going through a difficult time and is hospitalized at Hotel-Dieu. Guy has been with our group for many many years and is a valued member of your Steering Committee.  Our thoughts are with him and his wonderful wife Joannie.  If anyone would like to connect with Guy, he would welcome any text messages at 519-981-8215. You can also contact us if you want some information such as how to best communicate with Guy.

Winter Program

We wanted to give everyone a quick update on our winter program changes and plans.  Most importantly is our decision to NOT have a February membership meeting.  We did not take this decision lightly; however our feedback to date has concluded that there will be minimal attendance due to many members being away, enjoying southern climates, as well as many who would prefer more romantic endeavors on Valentines Day. Weather is always a wild card for travel to a February meeting. In addition, our winter program is planning to attract Urologists and Radiologists as speakers; after our long COVID pause, we want to make sure there is maximum participation for these respected presenters.

Please take advantage of any or all of the upcoming programs offered online by Prostate Cancer Support Canada. Check out details below or follow this link:

https://mailchi.mp/prostatecancerbc/january-2023-newsletter?e=30e4966d09

It is our plan to have our next meeting on Tuesday 14 March at the Hospice.  We are working hard to try and have this meeting as a hybrid ZOOM meeting. This would allow those in attendance at Hospice to enjoy real person interaction (and Noel’s banana bread), but also to allow out of town folks, and others not able to attend, to participate.

In the meantime, please continue to provide us with suggestions on how to improve our program.

Garry

Have your grandkids for the weekend and want to keep them busy? Or do you or someone you know enjoy drawing, painting, creating, or designing? We need your help to design the Father’s Day Walk/Run’s 25th anniversary T-shirt! Please submit your creation to Nicole (nicole@prostatecancerbc.ca) by Thursday, January 26th.

THURSDAY, JAN 26TH, 2023 | 6PM PST (9PM EST)
Prostate cancer affects both partners in a relationship. This support group offers a safe space for caregivers and loved ones to share their experiences, triumphs, and concerns. 

Check out the Partners in Prostate forum where you can chat with other partners 24/7.
Register now

TUESDAY, JAN 31ST, 2023 | 
7 PM EST (4 PM PST)

PCS Toronto welcomes Dr. Andrew J. Evans, Chief of Pathology at Mackenzie Health who will be speaking on ‘Understanding Gleason Scores and Pathology Reports.’This presentation will cover the processing of prostate needle core biopsies and radical prostatectomy specimens and how pathologists establish a histologic diagnosis of prostate cancer. 

TUESDAY, FEB. 28TH, 2023 | 
11 AM PST (2 PM EST)

Following Justin Lorentz’s presentation will be an opportunity for Q&A and support group discussion.
Register now

Tuesday November 8, 2022 Monthly Support Group Meeting at the Hospice (6038 Empress St.):

Our November monthly meeting will be at 7:00 pm on Tuesday 8 November at the Windsor Hospice.  For this month, we are very fortunate and pleased to have a presentation by Nancy Hannon, Windsor Regional Hospital (WRH) Social Worker.

Nancy worked at the Windsor Regional Cancer Program for 15 years.  She has her Bachelors of Social Work Degree (1990) as well as a Criminology Certificate (1990).  Nancy was in Children’s Mental Health for 16 years prior to the Cancer program.  She currently supports both out-patient patients and their families as well as patient’s in the Out-Patient Palliative Clinic.  Nancy is an active member of the Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) Caregiver Support Committee as well as Cancer Care Ontario Sexual Health Committee and she supports patients and their partners with their sexual health needs.

Nancy will provide an overview of social work services within the cancer program, how to refer, how the social work program supports patient’s/families and caregivers and the importance of emotional, psychological and sexual support.  She will bring pamphlets and a resource for those that wish to take one. The Hospice venue is again available to us for this upcoming meeting.  Masks are no longer required, we just ask that all participants sign in when they enter the building (sign-in is in the entryway). COVID screening forms are not needed at this time. If possible, please bring snacks as we have done in the past. 

Future Planned Monthly Meetings
Don’t forget that our December holiday party will be at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 594 (Howard Ave.) on Tuesday 13 December, which is coincident with that Legion’s bi-weekly $10 all-you-can-eat spaghetti dinner.  This turned out to be a great venue last year. The Legion cordoned off our own hall and many members brought pot-luck desserts.  So please mark it on your calendars and start baking goodies for the event.  If you plan to go, please let us know so that we can get an idea of numbers.

For the upcoming 2023 winter meetings (February to May) the following doctors have indicated a desire to meet with us and provide a presentation:

Dr. Igor Gaisinsky  (Diagnostic Radiology);

Dr. Jonathan Peng (Radiation Oncologist); and

Dr. Ryan McLarty (Urologist), who is new to Windsor.

If there are other ideas you have for presentations, please let us know.

2022 Grow-On Campaign

The Grow-On Windsor 2022 campaign kicked off last Friday and continues through the month of November. Our team site is now set up and can be accessed at this link:

(https://www.canadahelps.org/s/nhzetE)

We would be pleased to have as many of you as possible as team members to spread the word to your family, friends and associates. Simply follow the above link and click on the “Join This Team” button.

If needed, Jim Fair can help if you run into any issues.

Awareness Presentations to Companies and Organizations – We have been giving awareness presentations to various organizations (VistaPrint, Royal Canadian Legion, CARP, etc.). If you are aware of any company or organization who might be interested in having us join a Health & Wellness presentation, please let us know. Thanks to Murray, Greg, Jim L., Guy, Noel, Brian, Don, Jim F. and Garry for helping out with these awareness activities. We have a good supply of our new brochures. Please pick up some at the November meeting to take with you to your medical professional appointments.

Hockey Games – We recently manned awareness booths at the LaSalle Vipers and the Lakeshore Canadiens hockey games and will be manning an awareness booth at the Windsor Spitfires game (12 November).  Thanks to Wayne, Garry and Jim for your help. If you are interested in participating, please let us know.

Golf Shirts and Baseball Caps – Golf Shirts and Baseball Caps with our new logo are available to order.  If you are interested in buying shirts ($30) or caps ($20), please let us know. Prices include all taxes and shipping costs.

Prostate Cancer Support Canada 2022 Virtual Conference – You can view recordings of the presentations and download any available slides by visiting this link: https://mailchi.mp/prostatecancersupport/2022pcvcday1.

Membership and Volunteers – If you are aware of other potential new members, please let us know.  We would also welcome women and others who are not survivors but who want to help.  If there are other areas that you would like to volunteer for, please let us know. Please get involved!!!!

Garry

Garry W. Loeper, CD, MScEng, PCIP, PMP, PEng

e-mail: gwloeper@gmail.com

cell: (613) 913-4799

Hello Windsor/Essex Members,

September 13th Monthly Meeting at Legion Branch 594 (5030 Howard Ave., Oldcastle, ON):
Please be aware that, unfortunately, the Hospice venue will NOT be available to us for this upcoming September meeting, due to an unforeseen staff issue. As an alternative, Legion Branch 594 has kindly offered one of their halls for us to use at no charge. This venue is great, with the added bonus of access to a cash bar. Also, the kitchen closes at 7pm, for those who want to show up early for a meal.

Mental health is one of our major themes for this fall. Several Steering Committee (SC) members have taken the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) Peer Facilitator Training, and Nancy Hannon, the Windsor Regional Hospital (WRH) Cancer Program Social Worker, will be our presenter coming up in November. In keeping with this mental health theme, we are pleased to have Ed Kolar give a presentation on grief counselling for our September meeting, This should hopefully directly benefit anyone attending the meeting, but equally important, should equip us with some tools and techniques when providing Peer Support to the newly diagnosed and their loved ones.

Ed Kolar is a retired teacher and retired Pastor with decades of real world experience having helped hundreds dealing with grief. He is an exceptional speaker with a very dynamic style; his presentations are well received and always prove to be interesting, very relevant, and entertaining. On a side note, Ed is also a “Mad Scientist,” although not relevant to grief counselling, it speaks to his charismatic flair.

Please join us Tuesday, September 13th at 7:00pm

Remaining Fall Program – If you have ideas for presentations for October or the winter months, please let us know. It is our current thought to again have our 13 December Xmas Party at Legion 594, which coincides with their spaghetti night. This worked out well last year, where we also engaged a small band.
Please mark that in your calendars and let us know your thoughts.

In Other News:
We hope all of you have had a healthy and happy summer. While you have been frolicking on beaches and sipping on local wines, your Steering Committee has been very hard at work behind the scenes. Our main efforts have focused on networking with our stakeholders and partners with a view to expanding our community visibility. We deem this to be our main priority, to get the word out locally about our existence, in order to:
 Make sure the newly diagnosed and their families can access our support, which is our primary raison d’etre;
 Attract new members to enable us to achieve our goals, including providing peer support, as well as promoting awareness to the community; and
 Positioning ourselves to get in the face of the community, by attending events, and briefing companies and organizations.
The following summarizes some of the fruits of our labour:
 We have new brochures and a “marketing” banner stand for use with an awareness booth at sports events, company health and wellness fairs, fundraising campaigns, and other community events, etc.;
 We have been briefing organizations such as Legion 594 and the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP), etc. We plan to brief many more;
 We met with senior UNIFOR management to help promote our group to employees of large companies;
 We connected with Windsor Spitfires, LaSalle Vipers, and the Lakeshore Canadiens, who are happy to have us man an awareness booth at hockey games this fall; and
 We met with key Windsor Regional Hospital Directors and Urologists, who plan to make sure our promotional material is distributed to Urologists’ offices, and make our existence known to all newly diagnosed.

Spring Get-Together at the Legion Branch 594 – The spring get-together was well attended and enjoyed by all. Since then, Legion 594 has engaged a new caterer with a much improved menu. If all agree, we would hope to repeat the event in the spring 2023.

Hockey Game Visibility – As mentioned above, we will be manning an awareness booth at Windsor Spitfires, LaSalle Vipers, and Lakeshore Canadiens hockey games this fall. If you are interested in participating, please let us know.

Vista Wellness Fair Visibility – We will be manning an information and awareness booth at the Vista Wellness Fair, a day long event for the Team Members of the Vista Windsor printing plant on Advance Blvd. on Friday, September 23rd.

We would appreciate some help, as this is an all day event covering three shifts, 4:30am-6:30am; 9:00am-1:30pm; and 5:00pm-8:00pm. If you are interested in participating, please let us know as soon as possible.

More Community Awareness Events – Please let us know if you have ideas for us to promote ourselves at other sports events, company health and wellness fairs, fundraising campaigns, and other community events, etc. We need to get the word out and we need your help!!!

Golf Shirts and Baseball Caps – We are ordering Golf Shirts and Baseball Caps embroidered with our new logo. If you are interested in buying shirts or caps, please let us know. Shirts will cost approx. $25-$30 and hats $15-$20

Financial Manager and Webmaster – We are still looking for a financial manager and a Webmaster to relieve some workload off current SC members.  If you are interested, please let us know.

Membership and Volunteers – If you are aware of other potential new members, please let us know. We would also welcome women and others who are not survivors but who want to help. If there are other areas that you would like to volunteer for, please let us know. As our networking campaign gains momentum, we will need more horsepower. These are exciting times as we emerge from COVID stagnation!!!! Please get involved!!!!

Garry

Please join us as we meet again, in person, for our May 10, 2022 Support Group Meeting at Hospice.

We welcome our guest speaker Tim Brady, Pharmacist and Owner of Brady’s Drug Stores in Belle River, Essex and Tilbury.

Tim’s talk will cover topics such as the latest medicines related to Prostate Cancer, Incontinence, and Erectile Dysfunction.  As well, he’ll comment on the government of Ontario’s proposal to expand pharmacists’ scope of practice to assess and treat minor ailments, such as pink eye, eczema, and urinary tract infections for patients across the province.

Most people will tell you Tim’s just a really nice guy who is easy to talk to. But he’s done a lot of other neat stuff too. He has been a practicing pharmacist since 2000. He has worked in hospitals, large pharmacy chains, and independent pharmacies in both Canada and the United States before opening Brady’s Drug Store in 2014. Tim is currently the Chair of Board of Directors for the Ontario Pharmacists Association, and is a Past President of the Essex County Pharmacists Association and former Ontario College of Pharmacy Accreditation Committee Member. Tim also sits on the Public Advisory Committee for St. Clair College’s Pharmacy Technician program and has presented previously to Prostate Cancer Support Windsor/Essex. And if that isn’t enough, he does national and provincial talks to pharmacy colleagues on patient-centred care.

Tim has received awards for Excellence in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Leadership from Ferris State University in Michigan, and was the Alzheimer Society of Windsor-Essex County’s Philanthropist of the Year in 2012. Tim was also part of the Rotary Vocational Training Team that same year, and travelled to East Timor to help set up rural pharmacies and drug distribution networks.

Please join us Tuesday, May 10, 2022, 7pm at Hospice of Windsor/Essex County, 6038 Empress St., Windsor, ON.

COVID Screening Forms – We are still required to fill out COVID screening forms prior to entry.  In order to expedite the process and reduce any bottleneck at the Hospice entrance, we have attached a blank COVID screening form.  We ask that you print, sign, and bring the form with you if you plan to attend.  Guy Jolin will also be at the door to help the Hospice staff.  Again, we continue to monitor the Hospice requirements and update you should they change.

Save the Date: Saturday, June 18th @ 5 p.m., Royal Canadian Legion Branch 594, 5030 Howard Ave., Oldcastle, ON N9H 0M3

Join us for a casual evening to kick off the summer season. Watch for further details to follow, along with news and updates on some of our recent activities.

Please join us IN PERSON for our November 9th Support Group Meeting! (See Meeting Notes below)

This month we are pleased to welcome our guest speakers, Dr. Lisa Porter, Executive Director of WE-Spark Health Institute, and University of Windsor Professor of Biomedical Sciences, and Dr. John Trant, Biochemistry Professor from the University of Windsor, who will update us on their Prostate Cancer Research being carried out right here in Windsor/Essex. Please RSVP to winexpcsg@gmail.com to confirm your attendance as seating is limited.

Articles and photos courtesy of University of Windsor Daily News

A pair of UWindsor scientists are researching ways to better diagnose prostate cancer.

Lisa Porter and John Trant are developing imaging agents to help oncologists distinguish between different types of prostate cancer. The new agents would fluoresce under near-infrared light that could be used in conjunction with colonoscopies. Diagnoses would be more precise and wait times shorter than with current imaging using positron emission tomography, commonly referred to as PET scans.

“What’s cool about this is you could just use a lamp,” said Dr. Trant. “This would be much more readily available, and we could cut costs a couple orders of magnitude.”

The research is being funded with a $30,000 grant from the Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation’s Seeds4Hope program. Since its inception in 2009, Seeds4Hope has awarded $2.3 million to cancer research projects.

According to the Canadian Cancer Society, about one in nine Canadian men will develop prostate cancer during their lifetimes. Last year, more than 23,300 Canadians were diagnosed with prostate cancer. About 4,200 will die from it each year.

“The mortality numbers are lower than they used to be, as survival has significantly improved thanks to the development of both targeted therapies and prostate-cancer-specific imaging agents,” Dr. Porter said.

But the imaging could be vastly improved.

Prostate cancer generally begins as hormone-sensitive adenocarcinoma, a disease treated by reducing the body’s production of testosterone and other hormones. But the cancer can evolve and become resistant to the treatment. A second line of therapy can be used, but the cancer can evolve further into an even more aggressive form.

“Our project aims to develop a pair of probes that can distinguish between prostate cancer that is hormone sensitive and prostate cancer that has become treatment resistant,” Trant said. “It can also help determine if a cancer is progressing from one stage to another.”

Trant and Porter are experienced cancer researchers who have collaborated on projects tackling the most aggressive forms of the disease. Their research has been funded by provincial and federal agencies, as well as local ones.

“We’re thankful for the Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation and all its generous donors who give to the Seeds4Hope program,” said Porter. “The program continues to support cutting-edge research right here in Windsor-Essex.”

—Sarah Sacheli

Oncologists may soon have a new tool to outsmart prostate cancer thanks to research by UWindsor biochemistry professor John Trant.

Dr. Trant is developing imaging agents to help oncologists distinguish between different types of prostate cancer. The agents would offer better, quicker, and cheaper diagnoses than current imaging techniques.

“We are developing the next generation of imaging probes so clinicians can quickly determine the location of the tumour and help determine if the cancer is progressing from one stage to another,” Trant said.

“Early detection of cancer is one of the driving forces behind increased survival, however, with prostate cancer, just as it is important to learn if cancer is present, it is important to know if the cancer is changing.”

Trant’s research got a $120,000 funding boost last week from the Cancer Research Society, a registered charity that raises money for Canadian cancer research. The society announced $9.6 million in funding for 80 projects around the county. Trant’s was one of two UWindsor projects that received funding. The other is breast cancer research led by biology professor Munir Rahim.

Prostate cancer generally begins as hormone-sensitive adenocarcinoma, a disease that can be treated by reducing the body’s production of testosterone and other hormones, Trant explained. But the cancer can evolve and become resistant to the treatment. A second line of therapy can be used, but the cancer can evolve further into an even more aggressive form.

Zeroing in on a specific protein associated with the disease, Trant is developing a pair of probes that attach themselves to the protein, allowing doctors to distinguish between prostate cancer that is hormone sensitive and prostate cancer that has become resistant to treatment.

The agents Trant is developing would fluoresce under near-infrared light. Doctors could use a lamp that emits such light during colonoscopies to detect the agents. Diagnoses would be more precise and wait times shorter than with current imaging, which uses positron emission tomography, commonly referred to as PET scans.

“This would be much more readily available, and we could cut costs dramatically,” Trant said.

His research, started with UWindsor biomedical researcher Lisa Porter, received initial funding from the Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation’s Seeds4Hope program. The latest funding through the Cancer Research Society will allow the team to expand its research over the next two years and collaborate with clinicians at cancer centres.

Last year, more than 23,300 Canadian men were diagnosed with prostate cancer. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, about one in nine Canadian men will develop prostate cancer during their lifetimes, and 4,200 will die from it each year.

Since its inception, the Cancer Research Society has invested $326 million in cancer research.

“As a leader in the field of cancer research in Canada, the Cancer Research Society is determined, now more than ever, to contribute to preventing, detecting, and treating all types of cancer as demonstrated by the success of our annual grant competition,” said president and CEO Manon Pepin. “Each donor and partner can be sure that the donations collected will have a major impact for patients diagnosed with cancer, as well as for their loved ones.”

— Sarah Sacheli

Meeting Notes

Bring a coffee, tea or water and join us. New patients and their supporters are always welcome.

A big thanks to Hospice of Windsor & Essex County for opening their doors to us again. Meeting details are as follows:

Tuesday, November 9th, 2021 @ 7:00 p.m.

Hospice of Windsor & Essex County

6038 Empress St., Windsor, ON N8T 1B5

Please respect the following requirements related to the COVID-19 pandemic:

All participants must wear masks and complete required screening forms upon entry. Prostate Cancer patients are not required to provide proof of vaccination, however, all other guests must do so (confirmation of double vaccination at least 14 days before)

Masks must be worn by everyone at all times while on the premises.

Individuals are welcome to arrive with their own beverages or snacks. Alcohol is prohibited on Hospice premises. No coffee, tea, etc., will be provided by Hospice.

Please RSVP your attendance to winexpcsg@gmail.com as seating is limited to 30 people.

We do hope you’ll join us.

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.