April 2023 Support Group Meeting

Tuesday 11 April Meeting

For our upcoming April Members meeting at 7pm on Tuesday 11 April at the Hospice (Empress St.), we plan to have another Hybrid-ZOOM meeting with a taped video presentation rather than a live speaker.  This is deemed necessary to trial the concept of video presentations; most support groups across the country are also having difficulty finding speakers and most have advocated the value of these very high quality presentations.  We need to embrace this new paradigm in order to remain relevant and ensure high quality support to our existing and new members.

We plan to choose a video from the National Group or Toronto Group video libraries.  Links are as follows:

https://www.prostatecancersupport.ca/resources/#video-library

Prostate Cancer Support Toronto Videos

We would ask that you peruse these two (2) sites and let us know what videos might be of most interest to you.  There are many excellent presentations that most of you might also find interesting to watch on your own.

We are expecting several newly diagnosed men and their wives/girlfriends to join this meeting for the first time; please also invite your sweethearts if possible.  Engaging newly diagnosed and their partners in a positive environment is a primary goal of our group; therefore, we hope to have as much participation as possible to give them a friendly welcome. 

We ask that you bring potluck snacks; these make the meetings very enjoyable and we can’t expect Noel to feed the horde with banana bread alone.

Remembering Guy Jolin

As we previously announced, Guy Jolin recently passed away. He was a valued member of your Steering Committee for many years and a true friend to many of us.  There will be a Celebration of Life at 1100 on Saturday 22 April 2023 at the Salvation Army South Windsor Citadel (1201 Grand Marais Rd West).

March Hybrid-ZOOM Meeting Feedback

We recently trialed the Hybrid-ZOOM meeting concept at the March meeting.  There were a few initial hiccups due to Garry’s ineptness with the interweb, but once underway it went very well with several out-of-town and at-home folks able to join those who attended live at the Hospice.  Hybrid-ZOOM meetings have become the standard across the country for most support groups in order to accommodate those who cannot attend but also to attract speakers who prefer to present from home.  It also allows us to access high quality taped presentations from the National group and other non-Windsor support groups, most of which we could not duplicate here in Windsor/Essex.

Ontario ZOOM Meeting Feedback

As discussed at the April meeting, Garry and Jim F attended a ZOOM meeting with other Ontario based support groups to discuss common issues such as lower memberships, the need to share resources including presentations, and to exploit Hybrid-ZOOM meetings, etc.  These issues worsened before COVID; unfortunately, COVID exacerbated them requiring a need to embrace new ideas.  We will provide some feedback during the upcoming 11 April meeting.

Upcoming Awareness Booth Events

We currently plan on manning our awareness booth at the following functions:

·         Wed 12 April – National Association of Federal Retirees AGM

·         Wed 7 June – Canadian Association of Retired People AGM

If you have any ideas on other events (e.g. sports, organizations, etc.) for us to man our awareness booth, please let us know.

Upcoming Events Requiring Volunteers

We are currently committed to providing volunteers to the following fundraising events.

Friday 14 April – Play for a Cure (Jim Fair lead)

28 to 30 April – Hospice Annual Dove Pin Campaign (Murray lead)

Sunday 28 May – Motorcycle Ride for Dad (Garry lead).  Note: there will also be a volunteer briefing meeting on Sunday 30 April.

If you are interested in volunteering, please let us know.  In addition to manning our awareness booth at functions, volunteering at fundraising events is critical to our outreach program.  Please do not be shy, a few hours of your time goes a long way to achieving our goals of community awareness (e.g. early testing) and engaging the newly diagnosed.  Within the past several weeks several newly diagnosed have approached us; these are a direct result of our proactive outreach measures over the past year.

June Social Gathering

Our Christmas party at Legion 594 was a success whereby we piggy-backed on that Legion’s bi-weekly spaghetti dinner.  Like last year, we would like to have another social function to kick-off summer fun.  Legion 594 has a spaghetti night again on Tuesday 13 June which is coincident with our normally planned monthly meeting.  We could replicate this spaghetti venue, which has considerable advantages, or consider other options such as:

·         Having a get-together another day at Legion 594 to access the normal caterers’ menu; or

·         Consider another venue.

Please let us know your thoughts as your Steering Committee would prefer your input.

I would appreciate any comments that you might have.

Cheers,

Garry

News and Events from Prostate Cancer Support Canada

Please take advantage of current news and information from PCSC at this link

https://mailchi.mp/prostatecancerbc/april2023-15659325?e=30e4966d09

Remembering Guy Jolin

It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we inform you of the death of our friend, Guy Jolin, who passed away on Thursday 16 March 2023.  Guy was a very active member of your Steering Committee and was devoted to our group for many years.  Guy had been fighting more than his fair share of medical issues but relentlessly had a cheerful disposition to the end.  We will miss his infectious joyful attitude; he was truly an inspiration. Please keep Joannie and family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. 

There will be a Celebration of Life at 1100 on Saturday 22 April 2023 at the Salvation Army South Windsor Citadel (1201 Grand Marais Rd West).

March 2023 Support Group Meeting

Please join us Tuesday, March 14th @ 7 p.m. for our monthly support group meeting, either in person at Hospice of Windsor, 6038 Empress St., Windsor, or virtually on Zoom at this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87972958528?pwd=Zld4Z3RGcHF0MEhDNjdHdlpscXYzQT09

We recently received an invitation from the Ontario Prostate Cancer Support co-ordinating group to participate in a meeting with other Ontario Support groups to discuss declining memberships across the board, and other associated challenges.  This issue, and others which also apply to our group, need to be reflected upon and discussed in preparation for a National meeting to be hosted by Prostate Cancer Support Canada.  It is the current plan for Garry Loeper and Jim Fair to attend this Ontario discussion group, which is currently planned for the 3rd week of March.

As you are aware, we did not hold a February meeting due to the difficulty of finding a speaker and the number of members wintering in warmer climates.  We are unfortunately again experiencing the same issue for our upcoming March meeting with members down south and potential speakers dealing with student March break commitments and warm climate vacations of their own.  Bear in mind that many of these kind folks have young families and are mostly still working while donating their spare time to our group.

It is our desire to hold Hybrid-ZOOM meetings that will allow members to meet at the Hospice but also allow out of town members to join in; but most importantly, allow speakers to present from the comfort of their homes.  These have worked very well for other groups and there are numerous opportunities to join the National group and other non-Windsor Support groups’ ZOOM meetings.  In fact, many of these non-Windsor groups have excellent speakers who are rare and who would be difficult to replicate here in Windsor.  Logic would dictate that we should take advantage of these quality speakers.

Unfortunately, past experience has shown that our members are not enthusiastic about ZOOM meetings.  In order to adjust to this paradigm shift that is evident in society lately, we will need to embrace Hybrid-ZOOM meetings and innovate other ways to attract members and conduct meaningful and interesting get-togethers.  Some options that could be explored include:

·         Having shared monthly meetings with other Ontario groups.  We could still meet at the Hospice, but virtually connect with other groups and take advantage of other excellent speakers; and/or

·         Acquire recorded expert presentations from the National and other non-Windsor groups’ meetings and present them during our monthly meetings.

Your Steering Committee is proposing to have this as the primary topic for our meeting this Tuesday 14 March.  We sincerely do need and value your input in preparation for this upcoming Ontario and National discussions.  Most importantly is the need to make sure that our group remains relevant and useful to the newly diagnosed and the community.  As you are aware, we have been aggressively briefing organizations and attending Health/Wellness Fairs and other events.  For example, we will soon be participating in Play for a Cure, Motorcycle Ride for Dad, National Federal Retirees Annual General Meeting, and other community awareness events.  We also continue to have newly diagnosed people calling upon us for help.  These are great endeavors and our vision is to be seen as a reliable and worthy support organization for survivors and the community.

We therefore invite and encourage everyone to join us at the Hospice at 7pm this Tuesday 14 March.  We sincerely need your input.  For those who cannot attend, please join us via ZOOM as follows:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87972958528?pwd=Zld4Z3RGcHF0MEhDNjdHdlpscXYzQT09

Meeting ID: 879 7295 8528

Passcode: 287292

Garry

Please follow this link to review this month’s news and information from Prostate Cancer Support Canada:

https://mailchi.mp/prostatecancerbc/march2023-15654417?e=30e4966d09

No Support Group Meeting in February

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

In Other News:

Saturday, February 11th, 7:00am Live and Local, hosted by Kyle Horner on AM800CKLW, will feature an interview with our own Garry Loeper.

For all you early risers, be sure to tune in, or catch the audio cut later online at:

https://www.iheartradio.ca/am800/shows/live-and-local-1.1819295

Please take advantage of any or all of the upcoming programs offered online by Prostate Cancer Support Canada.

Check out details at this link:

https://mailchi.mp/prostatecancerbc/february2023?e=30e4966d09

News and Upcoming Presentations – January/February 2023

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

As we move into the new year, we look back with gratitude and look forward with excitement.
We can’t wait to continue working with you – our incredible community – to improve and expand the support that we provide to prostate cancer patients and their loved ones across Canada. As always, if you have suggestions, comments, or questions about any of our services, please feel free to reach out.
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

Coast to Coast Prostate Cancer Support Group
TUESDAY, JAN 31ST, 2023

11AM PST (2PM EST)
Join us for our Coast to Coast support group meeting that will feature special guest speaker, Dr. Phil Cohen.
Dr. Phil Cohen will be speaking on theranostics in nuclear medicine and the role that they play in prostate cancer. “Theranostics” is a combination of the terms “therapeutics” and “diagnostics.” The term is used to describe the combination of using one radioactive drug to identify (diagnose) and a second radioactive drug to deliver therapy to treat the main tumor and any metastatic tumors.
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. 

Register now
WEDNESDAY, FEB 8TH, 2023 | 
4PM PST (7PM EST)

This group welcomes men and their loved ones dealing with prostate cancer that has spread, that no longer responds to ADT, or is high risk.

Advanced prostate cancer patients deal with unique issues. Come for the information, stay for the support. New attendees are given priority to share. For immediate support, check out the Advanced Prostate Cancer forum where you can chat with other partners 24/7.
Register now
THURSDAY, FEB 9TH, 2023 | 
4:30PM PST (7:30PM EST)


This group offers support and information to men looking into active surveillance as a non-invasive treatment option for their low- or intermediate-risk prostate cancer. Learn more about how active surveillance works and why it’s not the same as just ‘avoiding treatment.’
Register now

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

Reminder – Dec. 13th Holiday Meeting

CHRISTMAS PARTY

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2022, 5:30 PM

ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION BRANCH 594

5030 HOWARD AVENUE, OLDCASTLE, ON N9H 0M3

Please let us know if you’re coming.

In order to assure success, we would like to know the following:

·         Numbers of members and guests who plan to attend;

·         Who will be bringing desserts; and

·         Any suggestions that would make this event memorable.

Please e-mail us (winexpcsg@gmail.com) or contact any of our Steering Committee members; their contact information can be found on our website (www.wpcsg.com/steering-comm

Our Christmas party is planned for a 5:30pm start on Tuesday 13 December 2022 at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 594 located at 5030 Howard Ave.; this coincides with that Legion’s bi-weekly spaghetti dinner.  This dinner costs $10/person and normally runs from 4:30pm to 6:30pm; it includes all-you-can-eat spaghetti, salad and a bun. 

The Legion will segregate part of the hall for our members and they will let us remain and enjoy the hall after the dinner has finished and everyone else has left. 

In Other News…….

A couple of opportunities for Prostate Cancer Survivors to help:

University of Toronto – Prostate Cancer Study

The Exercise Oncology Lab (PI: Dr. Linda Trinh) at the University of Toronto has an exciting study opportunity for prostate cancer survivors. The study is testing a distance-based program to help prostate cancer survivors sit less and move more. The study is all done in the comfort of their own homes and no study visits are required.  

We are looking for prostate cancer survivors across Canada to participate in this study. We are wondering if your Prostate Cancer Support Group would be willing to help spread word about this study opportunity with its members through email, social media, posting flyers, etc.? 

I have attached the consent form, recruitment flyer, and a link to the recruitment video for more information about the study. If you are able to help, we would be happy to provide e-mail templates about the study for you to advertise this research.  

Recruitment video: https://www.powtoon.com/s/bIT5QNU61YS/1/m/s  

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to our research team at the Exercise Oncology Lab at 416-946-5856 or at exercise.oncology@utoronto.ca 

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration. 

Warmly,

Michelle Ha, HBSc

Research Assistant, Exercise Oncology Lab

The Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) is seeking storytellers that have been affected by prostate cancer to help us advance our advocacy work. Our Story Centre program is a collection of stories that help CCS to demonstrate how we are making a difference in the lives of people affected by cancer and their families. The storytellers we work with may share their experiences in several ways, from social media or blog posts, to speaking opportunities with elected officials or media interviews.

We are interested in hearing from people with personal prostate cancer experiences or caregivers who wish to share their story to inspire others. In particular, we are looking for people who have lived experience with, or feel passionately about, the following topics:

  • Cancer screening and early detection, including PSA testing
  • Access to care, including the impact of COVID-19 on wait times and staffing shortages
  • Stigma associated with prostate cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment
  • Access to drugs, including limited or unstable access to drugs needed in relation to your cancer journey, or the bureaucracy in gaining access due to the admin involved
  • Palliative care, including home care, grief and bereavement and caregiver support
  • New technology and innovation in cancer care, including new treatments, technology, research investment and virtual care

If you or someone within your support group is interested in participating in our Story Centre program, please email shareyourstory@cancer.ca with the following information:

  • Full name
  • Community/Province
  • Overview of cancer journey
  • Connection to one or more areas of our advocacy work as listed above
  • Connection to Canadian Cancer Society (if any)

These stories help us to raise awareness about who we are, what we do and how we help. Thank you for considering this opportunity.

Thank you,

 Sasha Frost (She/Her) 
Sr Advocacy Specialist (Public Engagement) / spécialiste principale, Défense de l’intérêt public (engagement public)
Canadian Cancer Society / Société canadienne du cancer 

E Sasha.Frost@cancer.ca 
(905) 259-2721
55 St Clair Avenue West, Suite 300 / 55, avenue St. Clair Ouest, bureau 300 
Toronto, Ontario  M4V 2Y7 

Wednesday, December 14th
4 pm Pacific/12 pm Eastern


This group welcomes men and their loved ones dealing with prostate cancer that has spread, that no longer responds to ADT, or is high risk.

Advanced prostate cancer patients deal with unique issues. Come for the information, stay for the support. New attendees are given priority to share. 

REGISTER NOW.
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11 am Pacific/2 pm Eastern
Tuesday, December 27th 

Join us for our Coast to Coast support group meeting that will feature special guest speaker, Dr. Stephen Choi. 

Dr. Stephen Choi, recipient of one of our 2022 research grants, will be speaking on his award-winning research focussed on developing advanced prostate cancer drugs.
 
Register now
Wednesday, December 28th
6 pm Pacific/9 pm Eastern

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, January 31st
11 am Pacific/2 pm Eastern

Following Dr. Phil Cohen’s presentation will be an opportunity for Q&A and support group discussion.
REGISTER NOW.
Sign up for our Prostate Cancer Support Canada newsletter, Your Monthly Debrief, to ensure you’ll receive monthly prostate cancer support updates including:
Upcoming support group meetings, webinars, conferences, and events
Available clinical trials and research opportunitiesThe latest news in the Canadian prostate cancer support communityReminders to participate in our  free exercise and yoga sessions
Sign up for the Prostate Cancer Support Canada newsletter

December 2022 Support Group Holiday Meeting

2022 – A Great Year of Accomplishments!

I would like to thank all of your Steering Committee (SC) members for a great year.  We have accomplished a lot thanks to their hard work and enthusiasm.  Major achievements include:

·         Awareness presentations to several organizations;

·         We put together an impressive awareness booth, with a professionally developed banner stand and brochures, that we manned at several Health & Wellness Fairs and Hockey Games;

·         We had some impressive presentations at our monthly meetings;

·         We provided direct support to cancer related fundraising events such as “Play-for-a-Cure” and the Windsor Cancer Centre Foundaton “Grow-On” campaign; and

·         We have networked with the Windsor Regional Hospital (WRH) to have our awareness posters and brochures distributed to local urologists and we successfully solicited presenters for our 2022 program and upcoming Winter 2023 program including uroglists, radiologists, and social worker.

CHRISTMAS PARTY

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2022, 5:30 PM

ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION BRANCH 594

5030 HOWARD AVENUE, OLDCASTLE, ON N9H 0M3

Our Christmas party is planned for a 5:30pm start on Tuesday 13 December 2022 at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 594 located at 5030 Howard Ave.; this coincides with that Legion’s bi-weekly spaghetti dinner.  This dinner costs $10/person and normally runs from 4:30pm to 6:30pm; it includes all-you-can-eat spaghetti, salad and a bun. 

The Legion will segregate part of the hall for our members and they will let us remain and enjoy the hall after the dinner has finished and everyone else has left.  Here are some of the advantages of this venue, which is a nice new and cheerful building:

·         There will be no cost for the hall rental assuming a sufficient number of members attend the spaghetti dinner starting at 5:30pm;

·         The $10/person cost for the dinner is reasonable;

·         There will be a bar with bartender on duty;

·         The hall will be nicely decorated with Christmas decorations and music; and

·         The Legion will allow our members to bring potluck desserts;

The Steering Committee hopes that you also find this plan to be equally exciting.  In order to assure success, we would like to know the following:

·         Numbers of members and guests who plan to attend;

·         Who will be bringing desserts; and

·         Any suggestions that would make this event memorable.

We need to know if you’re coming.

Please e-mail us (winexpcsg@gmail.com) or contact any of our Steering Committee members; their contact information can be found on our website (www.wpcsg.com/steering-committee/).

Future Planned Monthly Meetings

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 Windsor Campaign

A huge thanks goes out to all of you who either joined our PCSWE Grow On Team or donated generously to this year’s campaign. With your support, the Grow-On Windsor 2022 campaign exceeded their $300,000 goal and donations are still rolling in. Our Team is proud to have contributed a total of $4,441, which ranked us 7th out of the 37 teams participating.

Garry

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

e-mail: gwloeper@gmail.com

cell: (613) 913-4799

Grow On Windsor


A PERFECT PAIRING GIVE TODAY
Your Support Goes Even Further This #GivingTuesday!
Grow On Windsor 2022 is coming to a close and your support has been incredible. Because of you, the Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation can support the purchase of equipment and services to treat men living with cancer right here in our community. Today is #GivingTuesday, and Grow On Windsor’s donation platform, CanadaHelps, is giving an additional 1% boost on all donations made today. 
Give Today, and your support goes even further.

“As a father, teacher, and coach, I was always showing others how to fight and never quit. Lessons I’ve taught others have prepared me for this fight, and fighting cancer is the ultimate fight.”
-Jermaine Jackson, 2022 Grow On Windsor Ambassador. 
Your gift supports Jermaine, and all men living with cancer right here in our community. No one is in this fight alone. We Grow On Together. 
Donate Now & Boost Your Gift

Reminder – Support Group Meeting Tonight

Please join us tonight, November 8th, 7:00pm at Hospice of Windsor, 6038 Empress Street, Windsor. We ask that you simply sign in when you enter the building (sign-in is in the entryway). We are back to a pre-pandemic format. Masks are optional and COVID screening forms are not a requirement at this time. If you wish, please bring snacks as we have done in the past. 

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 patients 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 patients/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. Please Join us!

November 8th Support Group Meeting

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

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