April 8th, Dr. Colvin Springer, a Radiation Oncologist at Windsor Regional Cancer Centre, presented to our group. Dr. Springer is a graduate of University of the West Indies (BSc. 1985), University of Michigan (MSc. 1991 Clinical Research Design and Statistical Analysis) as well Queen’s University, (MBA 2003).

From your Steering Committee, we hope everyone had a great March and didn’t indulge too much in green beverages, “special” coffees, corned beef, and cabbage. We continued our Winter program with a great presentation in March by Dr. Ryan McLarty, a Windsor-based Urologist, and we look forward to other upcoming presentations by medical and other specialists.

Tuesday April 8th, 2025 Support Group Meeting – Dr. Colvin Springer (Windsor Radiation Oncologist)

Dr. Springer, a Radiation Oncologist at Windsor Regional Cancer Centre, is a graduate of University of the West Indies (BSc. 1985), University of Michigan (MSc. 1991 Clinical Research Design and Statistical Analysis) as well Queen’s University, (MBA 2003). He will be presenting, Prostate Cancer Prevention in the Black Community: Fostering Culturally Competent Care to gain a better understanding to:

Appreciate the higher prevalence and severity of Prostate cancer among Black men

Recognize the risk factors that make Black men more likely to develop prostate cancer

Understand prostate cancer screening guidelines for high-risk groups

Identify appropriate patient and physician resources for awareness, screening, and detection

The meeting is planned for 7pm on Tuesday April 8th at the Windsor Hospice Auditorium (6038 Empress St.).

Everyone is also welcome to attend remotely via ZOOM using the following link Zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6953623178

We would like to give special thanks to Brian Robinson who volunteered his time to set-up and man our awareness booth at the Kingsville Seniors Expo on Wednesday 5 March 2025. These opportunities are very important for us. The organizers were very thankful for our participation and we were able to get our awareness brochures out to the community.

Springtime is our busiest time of the year with multiple outreach events requiring volunteers for events such as Play For A Cure and Motorcycle Ride For Dad. All of these events are very critical as they help advance our cause including spreading the word of our existence to those diagnosed and advocating early PSA testing. If possible, please look at the list of events below and help out by volunteering. In most cases you are treated to a meal or two and these are also great social opportunities with the community. Organizers always praise us for our involvement and our members have always found helping to be very rewarding.

FUTURE MONTHLY MEETINGS

Tuesday 13 May 2025 Meeting – We are planning to have Dr. Caroline Hamm (Medical Oncologist, Cancer Program, Windsor Regional Hospital (WRH)) present to our group. Dr. Hamm is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Oncology at Western University as well as Chair of the Windsor Division Oncology at Schulich School of Medicine and Chair of WRH Academic and Research Committee, fostering academic excellence in the Windsor Essex region. She founded and leads the Clinical Trials Navigator program since inception, working with national partners to improve patient access to clinical trials including Prostate Cancer patients.

Tuesday 10 June 2025 Meeting – We will likely have a Spaghetti Dinner at Legion Branch 594 as we have done in the past before we break for the summer.

OUTREACH EVENTS

WE-SPARK Health Research Conference (Saturday 22 March 2025) – Garry and Jim attended. WE-SPARK Health Institute is an innovative partnership between Erie Shores HealthCare,
St. Clair College, University of Windsor and Hôtel-Dieu Grace Windsor Regional Hospital, that brings together health research strengths, expertise, and infrastructure from across the Windsor-Essex region. This event, which included research related to Prostate Cancer, aimed to showcase, connect, and strengthen health research excellence.

National Group Annual General Meeting (Wednesday 26 March 2025) – Garry attended the Prostate Cancer Foundation Canada (PCFC) Annual General Meeting.
National Group Townhall Meeting (Saturday 5 April 2025) – Garry will attend. This town hall event is for support group leaders to interact with PCFC Board members and have questions regarding support groups answered.

Hospice Dove Pin Campaign (Thursday 24 April to Sunday 27 April) – The Hospice is a wonderful organization and they let us use their facility for free. They always appreciate our members volunteering a few hours of their time to participate in their annual fundraising campaign. If you are able to volunteer, please let us know or you can call the Hospice directly at (519) 974-7100. You can also volunteer on-line at the following link:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0944ACAF22A4FAC43-46291245-3rdannual#/

If you are volunteering, please let us know.

Play For A Cure (Friday 9 May 2025) –

This year’s Play For A Cure Tournament will be held on Friday, May 9th at Vollmer Recreation Centre, LaSalle. Thanks to all who participated in last year’s event. It was another tremendous success, raising over $400,000 for local cancer research. It was also a great opportunity for us to promote awareness of our group, and get our message of “Get Checked” across to a key demographic for us. Event organizers are always very appreciative of our involvement.

Thanks to those who have already offered to help this year. If you are able to volunteer some of your time to the event this year, please let us know by Friday April 4th. We need volunteers from 8:00am to 4:00pm. If you can only be there for the morning or afternoon shift, please indicate which one.

Thanks! Jim Fair 519-890-8525

For more information on this year’s event, call me, or check out the Play for a Cure Website:

Play for a Cure – Pro-Am will be a unique opportunity for hockey fans alike to play along side and against some of the stars they grew up watching on TV.

Windsor Regional Hospital Foundation Dr. Richard Boyd Men’s Health Program Golf Tournament (Wednesday 21 May 2025) – We will need 12 volunteers over two 2-hour shifts as follows:

Hole-in-one Contests – 2 holes. 
We will need 2 volunteers per hole, per shift.
Total of 8 volunteers

Beat the Pro Contest
We will need 2 volunteers for this, per shift.
Total 4 volunteers

Thanks to those who have already volunteered. If interested in helping out, please let us know as soon as possible.

Motorcycle-Ride-for-Dad (Sunday 25 May 2025) – Details to follow. The primary effort is in the morning to help register hundreds of participants and direct motorcycle traffic. Those who stay to help out at the “finish line” are treated to a meal. Like the above campaigns, all funds remain local in the Windsor area.

Presentation to Canterbury Elder College (Thursday 5 June 2025) – Garry will be presenting to the Canterbury Elder College

Prostate Cancer Foundation Canada Father’s Day Walk/Run (June 15th, 2025) – This annual PCFC fundraising campaign is very important to us since the National Group provides immeasurable support to us. Simply put, we could not operate without their help and support. In addition, we get up to 50% equivalent return on money our members raise or donate.

Please join our PCS Windsor/Essex Team and/or donate to show your support at this link:

Register | Father’s Day WalkRun

OTHER NEWS

PROSTATE CANCER FOUNDATION CANADA (PCFC)
National Group Website (www.prostatecanada.ca)
Monthly Debrief – Please remember that PCFC (www.prostatecanada.ca), does an amazing job and provides significant valuable support to our group and support groups across the country. We encourage you to visit their web-site; it is a mint of information that directly helps individuals. The following is a link to their latest monthly newsletter:

February 2025 Support Group Newsletter

The following is a summary of the newsletter highlights; please see the newsletter for further details:

 Researchers at Nova Scotia Health are seeking participants to share their experiences living with metastatic cancer who have received either targeted therapy or immunotherapy.

 Have you been interested in leading a nationwide support group? Our Advanced Prostate
Cancer Support Group meets monthly, and we are seeking a compassionate and dedicated
individual to help foster a supportive community. Austin and Nitasha from Support Services will
be there to guide you throughout the journey.

 A new study led by Dr. Richard Wassersug is gathering patient opinions on alternative Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT) options. If you have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, take this quick, anonymous survey to help improve future treatments.

 Butts in Motion is a weekly yoga program focused on mindful breathing, mobility, stability, and strength in a supportive and rejuvenating practice

October 8th, Dr. Chris Langley, a Urologist with Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, presented to our group on the Contemporary Surgical Management of Prostate Cancer. 

Fall has arrived and we are looking forward to a fruitful program.  The following is a quick summary of some relevant information and a link to the latest National Group’s monthly newsletter

RECENT EVENTS

New Steering Committee Member and Facebook – We are very pleased to announce that Olav Kitchen has agreed to join your Steering Committee.  Olav has been managing our ZOOM requirements for our monthly meetings and he is currently developing a Facebook Group for Prostate Cancer Support Windsor/Essex.  If you have any ideas for what you would like to see on a Facebook Group, please let us know.  Thank-you Olav for agreeing to help our group!

VistatPrint Health/Wellness Fair – We recently manned a booth at the annual VistaPrint Health/Wellness Fair on Friday 13 September.  This was a very important activity for us due to the significant printing cost savings that directly benefit us.

Life After Fifty Be-Well Expo – We recently manned a booth at the annual Life After Fifty Be Well Expo on Saturday 28 September.  We also gave a presentation.

UPCOMING EVENTS

The following summarizes some of the presently known fall program activities:

Our Tuesday 8 October Meeting – Dr. Chris Langley (Chatham Urologist)

October’s monthly Hybrid-ZOOM meeting is planned for Tuesday 8 October.  Our featured speaker, Dr. Chris Langley, a Urologist with Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, will present to the group on the Contemporary Surgical Management of Prostate Cancer. 

After completing his urology residency training at the University of Ottawa, Langley completed a fellowship in advanced laparoscopy, robotics and endourology at McMaster University. Born and raised in Southwestern Ontario, Dr. Langley was pleased to move back to this area and join CKHA in 2023.

It is our intent to invite Chatham area folks and others across the country to this meeting.  We would like to thank Dr. Sorensen for arranging this speaker.

The meeting starts at 7pm at the Hospice (Empress St.).  For those who would like to attend remotely, please access via ZOOM with the following link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6953623178

Tuesday 12 November Meeting – Dr. Junaid Yousuf (Windsor Radiation Oncologist) – Dr. Junaid Yousuf (Windsor Radiation Oncologist) will be presenting to our group on Tuesday 12 November.  His focus will be radiation options for treating prostate cancer with an emphasis on Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT), which was recently initiated at Windsor regional Hospital.  We are very enthusiastic about hearing about this newly evolving program and the patient selection criterion.  It is our intent to invite folks across the country to this meeting.  We would like to again thank Dr. Sorensen for arranging this speaker.

December Xmas Party – It is our intent to have another Xmas get-together again this year, likely coincident with Legion 594’s bi-weekly all-you-can-eat Spaghetti Dinner.  We shall provide more details as we draw closer.

Prostate Cancer Foundation Canada (PCFC) National Conference – PCFC will be hosting a national conference on Saturday 26 October.  We will be participating.  Please let us know any ideas you might have on national-level strategic initiatives you feel are important.  They will be looking for ideas on what they should focus on this year.  Initial thoughts are advocacy/lobbying at the National and Provincial levels such as for having:

• PSA tests publicly funded;
• PSMA-PET testing publicly funded; and/or
• National Urologist organizations “advertise” promote groups’ existence.

Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation Grown On Campaign – Over the next two months, we will be helping out with the Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation Grown-On Campaign that will be raising funds for the new DaVinci Surgical Robot at Windsor Regional Hospital.

The DaVinci Surgical Robot has been a key factor in the treatment and survival of several of our members and this campaign will directly benefit local prostate cancer patients going forward. The WCCF also provides direct support to our group by helping us defray some of our operating costs. We strongly encourage our members to support the Grow On Campaign by joining our PCSWE Grow On Team at this link:

Register to fundraise – FundRazr

Please remember that Prostate Cancer Foundation Canada (www.prostatecanada.ca), does an amazing job and provides significant valuable support to our group and support groups across the country.   We encourage you to visit their web-site; it is a mint of information and help that directly helps individuals.  The following is a link to their latest monthly newsletter:

Your Monthly Debrief for September 2024 (mailchi.mp)

Some of the more noteworthy points for this month include:

• National Conference (“Hub”);

• Speaker Events Still to Come The Prostate Cancer Experience – Six Stories of Inspiration and Resilience. How Drugs are Discovered, Developed and Approved for Prostate Cancer with Dr. Abby Collier

• Light Up in Blue Continues:
  • 200+ landmarks lighting up nationwide reminding men to get checked
  • Thanks to the generous support of J&J and hundreds of Canadians nationwide, Light up in Blue is exceeding even last year’s successes.

• New and active clinical trials with sites in Canada
  • 108 active trials are approved or recruiting, click through for information

• One-on-one is up and running – information and contact details:
  • Training is free, online, and offered in a work-at-your-own-pace format, so you’re ready to start supporting within weeks.
  • One-on-one offers patients and partners the opportunity to give back and gain a sense of empowerment over their own journeys, through the sharing of their lived experiences with those needing support.
  • If you’re interested in offering, or receiving, One-on-One support, learn more and sign up at the link below.