September’s monthly Hybrid-ZOOM meeting is Tuesday 10 September.  We welcome, via Zoom, our guest speaker, Marc Seguin who is a cancer survivor, author, and motivational speaker (www.AdvocacyInAging.com).  He will discuss a planning framework, allowing all to live with peace of mind, knowing affairs are well organized, communicated and ready for transition to trusted advocates.

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

Shine a light on Prostate Cancer

Light Up in Blue is an annual awareness campaign held every September in which landmarks and buildings across Canada light up in blue for prostate cancer awareness month.

• Check out the map of 2024 locations from BC Place to Niagara Falls to parliament buildings across Canada.
• Our thanks to The City of Windsor who will show their support by lighting up Windsor City Hall in blue on the evening of Monday, September 9th
• Visit a location near you and tag us in your photos! We’d love to see them!

MORE ABOUT THIS EVENT, PLEASE VISIT: https://lightupinblue.ca

September 13th

VistaPrint Health/Wellness Fair – We appreciate the opportunity to spread our “Get Checked” message once again via our booth at the annual VistaPrint Health/Wellness Fair on Friday 13 September.  In addition to getting our message out to over 1,000 team members, we benefit from significant printing cost savings due to our involvement. There are three (3) shifts beginning at 4:00am – 6:00am, 9:30am – 12:00pm and finishing 5:45pm – 7:00pm.

Please offer to help out, as this has become a very long day for the few members who volunteer. Contact Garry.

September 28th

Life After Fifty Be-Well Expo – We will be manning a booth at the annual Life After Fifty Be Well Expo on Saturday 28 September.  The organizers may also want us to give a presentation.  Please also consider volunteering for this event as this should prove to be an excellent opportunity to get our messages out to a target-rich audience.

This time of year has been and continues to be very busy with your Steering Committee having been very active with a variety of activities and planning for upcoming events.  There are lots of volunteering opportunities coming up, many entailing food.  If you have a few hours to spare, please consider helping out with some of the upcoming events listed below.  If you have other thoughts on events for us to participate in, please let us know.

UPCOMING MEETINGS

Tuesday 14 May 2024 Meeting – Windsor Motorcycle Ride for Dad

For the upcoming monthly meeting Tuesday 14 May, Cori Miles will give a presentation on the Windsor Motorcycle Ride for Dad (MRfD) Prostate Cancer fundraising campaign.  Cori and her husband (Shane) are co-chairs of this annual local event.

Established in 2000, the MRfD fight against prostate cancer is committed to help save men’s lives and improve the quality of life for men and their families living with the disease.  Every year, thousands of participants, supporters, and friends raise funds for the MRfD initiatives held in communities from coast to coast to coast across Canada.  Proceeds are received by its charity, the Prostate Cancer Fight Foundation, to fund ground-breaking prostate cancer research and life-saving awareness campaigns to benefit the area where the money is raised.

Cori’s presentation is expected to touch on the following topics:

• Background of Cori and Shane and their motivation for running the local MRfD;
• History of Windsor’s MRfD;
• A run down of all the preps, resources, & volunteer horsepower make it happen;
• The typical event schedule;
• Some statistics on number of participants and money raised over the years;
• Examples of things that the MRfD donations have funded;
• Their vision for the future of MRfD; and
• The need for volunteers.

We hope you can join us at 7pm Tuesday 14 May.  As usual, this will be a Hybrid-ZOOM event.  You can meet in-person at the Hospice (Empress St.) or via ZOOM at the link below:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6953623178

Tuesday 11 June 2024 Spring Get Together

It is proposed to have another “BBQ” get-together for the June meeting.  This needs to be discussed to confirm and flesh out details on a venue – possibly at Legion 594.  Unfortunately, the Legion’s bi-weekly spaghetti night coincides with our June meeting.  Consequently, if we choose the Legion, it would have to be a spaghetti dinner like the Xmas dinner.  If the weather is good, we could have our spaghetti on the patio.

If folks would prefer something different, we can either:

• Change the date;
• Change the venue; or
• Not have a BBQ.

Please let us know your thoughts.

RECENT EVENTS

Play for a Cure – Friday 17 April 2014

Thanks to all of you for participating in this year’s Play for a Cure 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. 

Volunteers included Garry, Josephine, Ed, Murray, Dennis, Don, Greg, Noel, Wayne, and Steve.  Bravo Zulu to Jim for taking the lead.  Event organizers were very appreciative of our involvement.

City of Windsor – Firefighters

We approached The City of Windsor last year to request that we give a lunch/learn presentation to City staff.  After several postponements, Sarah Fox, a Wellness Specialist in Human Resources for The City of Windsor arranged four (4) daily webinar sessions (15-20 attendees each) with Windsor Firefighters, April 23-26. The briefings went very well.

Hospice Dove Pin Campaign – Thursday 25 April to Sunday 28 April 2024

Thank-you to all who volunteered for the Hospice Dove Pin campaign.  The Hospice, who lets us use their facility for free, very much appreciated the effort by all our members who helped.

CURRENT EVENTS

Windsor Regional Hospital (WRH) Foundation DaVinci Campaign

The WRH Foundation has launched the new campaign April 18th to raise funds for an update of the DaVinci Robotic Surgery Machine.  The campaign literature (email and mail) includes Jim Fair’s story of having to go “up the road” for robotic surgery that can now be done locally.  Thank-you Jim for offering to share your story with all of Windsor/Essex.

FUTURE EVENTS

WRH Foundation Golf Tournament – Wednesday May 22, 2024 at Essex Golf & Country Club

The WRH Foundation golf tournament is planned for Wednesday May 22, 2024 at Essex Golf & Country Club.  Funds from this year’s tournament will once again support the Dr. Richard Boyd Men’s Health Program, specifically with funding being directed to assist with the purchase of a new DaVinci Robot for Windsor Regional Hospital.  The current machine has reached the end of its lifespan and the WRH is in need of a new machine, so funds from the tournament will assist with that purchase.

We are looking for volunteers to spend about three (3) hours as witnesses for the “Hole-in-One” and “Beat the Pro contests.”  The golf course is beautiful and volunteers are welcome to a nice brunch beforehand or cocktail reception afterwards.

Please let us know if you are interested in participating.

Motorcycle Ride for Dad (MRfD) – Sunday 26 May 2024

The Motorcycle Ride for Dad (MRfD) event is always amazing and all funds remain local.  This has always been a fun day for all who volunteered and your day also includes a meal at the end.  If you are able to help out, please let us know.  Just a reminder that the event time is from 7am to 10am Sunday morning; if you are able to volunteer this year, please show up at Thunder Road Harley Davidson for 6AM.  If you can’t make it that early, please arrive before 9am as the motorcycles “launch” at 10am and we are required for that.

OTHER VOLUNTEER NEEDS

We are also still looking for help such as financial manager and web-site support.

NETWORKING FOR NEW MEMBERS

The Steering Committee believes that most of our recent new members found out about our group through word of mouth.  It is proposed to mail a handful of our business cards to a hockey-sock of members with a covering letter requesting that you pass on our business cards to anyone you encounter who may be interested in our group or just getting advice.

If you receive business cards in the mail, please pass on to anyone you are aware of who are touched by prostate cancer.  If you don’t receive business cards, but would like some, please let us know.

PROSTATE CANCER FOUNDATION CANADA LATEST NEWSLETTER

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:

News | Prostate Cancer Foundation Canada (prostatecanada.ca)

Your Steering Committee hopes that everyone is well, and having a wonderful New Year so far.

Tuesday 9 April 2024 Monthly Meeting
Our upcoming meeting is planned for a 7:00pm start on Tuesday 9 April 2024. It will be a  Hybrid-ZOOM meeting; please join us in person at the Hospice (Empress St.) or remotely at the following ZOOM Link:

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

For those attending in person, please bring pot-luck desserts if possible.

For this month’s meeting, we will view a YouTube Video presentation by Dr. Jack Barkin, on High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) for prostate cancer treatment (https://youtu.be/XXI8NteEllE). HIFU is a minimally invasive medical procedure that uses ultrasound waves to treat certain conditions, such as tumors, uterine fibroids and tremor. The very high-intensity and highly focused sound waves interact with targeted tissues in your body to modify or destroy them.

Dr. Jack Barkin, the founding partner and medical director of Can-Am HIFU, who performed the first Canadian HIFU treatment in 2006, speaks about this ‘most effective, minimally invasive’ localized prostate cancer treatment. He has authored over 100 papers on different aspects of urology in medical and urologic journals, worked on over 250 clinical trials, served as a medical advisory board member for many organizations, and speaks in countries around the world.

Dr. Sorenson will also be available (via ZOOM) to answer any questions.

Future Meetings
We will be working with Dr. Sorensen for presenters for our May meeting. We also hope to have a spring BBQ for the June meeting. We had a get-together last June at Legion 594 (Howard Ave). We would welcome any ideas on this or other venues for a Spring BBQ. We look forward to seeing as many folks as possible. Please remember to “advertise” our group and meetings to anyone you are aware of that is dealing with prostate cancer.

Volunteering Opportunities

Thanks to those who offered to lend a hand at this year’s Play for A Cure event, Friday April 19th at Vollmer Centre, LaSalle. You can still show your support by attending the evening All-Star Game. Details and tickets available through this link: 2024 All-Star Game – Play for a Cure

We are still a few weeks away from some other events needing our support including:

Hospice Dove Pin Campaign – Thursday 25 April to Sunday 28 April 2024. Details and volunteer sign-up at this link: Events for April 2024 – Windsor Essex Hospice (thehospice.ca)

WRH Foundation Golf Tournament – Wednesday May 22, 2024 at Essex Golf & Country Club. This will be a fundraising event for a new DaVinci Surgical Robot Machine for the WRH;

Motorcycle Ride for Dad

Sunday 26 May 2024. Details/sign-up/pledge at this link: Windsor – Ride For Dad

If you are interested in participating in these or other events, please let us know. They are very worthy campaigns that are important to us in helping spread the word of early detection and our existence as a support group.

A few hours of your time are very valuable to us and our cause.

Prostate Cancer Foundation Canada Latest Newsletter
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. Monthly newsletters can be accessed through this link:

News | Prostate Cancer Foundation Canada (prostatecanada.ca)

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.