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August 20007 Volume 1 #2
 Prostate problem primer Prostate awareness and Rider pride Molecule helps predict PCa outcome Prostate Cancer Conference 2007 • SUBSCRIBE • contact the editor • visit the cpcn website |
Prostate awareness and Rider pride by John Hoffman  Prostate cancer support groups spend considerable time thinking of new ways to raise public awareness about the cancer that affects men more than any other.CPCN directors Steve Pillipow and Robert Watson got a brain wave last summer when they saw the dog tags issued to delegates at last year's CPCN conference in Calgary. "We liked the look of the tags and the theme that we were fighting a war on prostate cancer," says Pillipow, the vice-president of CPCN's board of directors. "Robert and I got together and talked about using these dog tags as an awareness tool in our community. We came up with the idea of doing it at a Saskatchewan Roughrider game." As soon as they got home from the conference, Pillipow, Watson, and some Saskatchewan colleagues arranged a meeting with Rider officials. Six week later, they were among 65 volunteers, selling tags as fans arrived at the September 30 game between the Riders and the Edmonton Eskimos. The football club generously donated $1000 to help pay for the dog tags, and team officials smoothed the way for volunteers. The tags bore the slogan "I'm helping to win the war against Prostate Cancer" along with the Roughrider logo and the address of the CPCN website. "We sold 3000 tags that day," says Pillipow. "Several groups helped us, the SaskTel Pioneers retirees, Regina CPCN support group and other volunteers. We targeted everybody, not just men. Our view was that prostate cancer affects everybody, so we need to educate and raise awareness among the entire population." Pillipow was heartened by the response he got. "Many people said things like, 'It's about time someone started talking about prostate cancer in public. Keep up the good work. Here's my donation.' We were asking for a minimum donation of $2.00 but many people donated more than that." This year, the dog tag event will be held on September 2. "The Labour Day weekend game is one of the big games of the year," says Pillipow. "We're hoping to hand out 5000 dog tags this year." The success of the Saskatchewan initiative has prompted CPCN to look at the possibility of taking the dog tag day to every CFL city. Earlier this summer, Watson and Wally Seeley, CPCN's executive director, discussed the idea with CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon. "Mr. Cohon is very sympathetic to our cause," Seeley explains. "He is not in a position to decide what charitable events each team will support. However, he did offer to introduce us to the management of every CFL club and that may help smooth the way for us." CPCN will be working on this initiative in the coming months. With a little luck, and hard work, we may see Prostate Cancer Dog Tag Days in every CFL city in the coming years. |
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