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October 2007 Volume 1 #3
 Conference offers hope and optimism FISH and CHIPs and prostate cancer Surviving PCa: How exercise can help Reef Knot Award winners |
CPCN/CPCRI Conference offers hope and optimism for delegates By Valerie Lapp  In the tenth anniversary year of the seminal National Prostate Cancer Forum, CPCN joined with CPCRI (Canadian Prostate Cancer Research Initiative) to present the highly successful Prostate Cancer Conference, September 27-30 at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto.More than 275 prostate cancer researchers and survivors from across Canada came together under the banner "A Decade of Progress, A Future of Hope" to share stories of support group successes and challenges and to discuss advances in prostate cancer research over the last decade. "Response [to the conference] has been unanimously positive," reports CPCN Executive Director Wally Seeley. "The speakers, realizing that they were talking to prostate cancer survivors as well as to cancer researchers, gave accessible and interesting presentations, and the food was excellent!" Graham Rose, chair of the Peterborough Prostate Cancer Support Group and a conference delegate, agrees. "The conference was outstanding, in large part because it was co-chaired by CPCN and the CPCRI. It injected a lot of reports on research in prostate cancer into the proceedings, and gave much hope to the cancer survivors who were there." The conference unfolded in two parts. Friday's sessions validated the ongoing importance of local prostate cancer support groups from several different perspectives, while on Saturday and Sunday, the delegates heard about progress and potential in the area of prostate cancer treatment research. After opening remarks from CPCN President Bob Shiell, Dr. David Bell from Dalhousie University's Urology Department stressed the importance of support groups working closely with urologists all along the treatment path. His points were "well-made and significant," according to Rose, who said that Dr. Bell's words sent a clear message to support groups to work hard at building these ties. Rose's own local group has a strong alignment with local urologists and hospitals. He cites, in particular, one positive result of this strong connection. "When newly diagnosed patients get in touch with us for a lay consultation, we can be of real help." John Oliffe (PhD), assistant professor at the UBC School of Nursing, delivered fascinating research into the role of prostate cancer support groups in the promotion of men's health, and Dr. Terry Hill, leader of the Thunder Bay and Area Prostate Support and Awareness Group, shared the benefits of using video conferencing to link support groups separated by a large geographical area. An inspirational speech by The Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and lively and informative group sessions rounded out the day. For Graham Rose, the second part of the conference, in which presenters divulged research and expectations developed via more than $12 million dollars in research funds, really set the event apart from earlier conferences. (More detail on two research presentations can be found in the articles "FISH and CHIPs and prostate cancer: Refining prognosis and treatment by analysing unique tissue genetics" and "Surviving prostate cancer: New evidence on how exercise can help.") "I was struck by the youth and optimism of the presenters," reports Rose. "They lent something that was truly uplifting to the conference and offered a lot of hope. It seems there are no boundaries for these young people doing the research." "Sometimes, it seems that research on prostate cancer is relegated to a lower position because there are less dollars to spend. But, after this conference, I feel there is a lot of slick action going on." "I also felt, after hearing what's already being done, that if we were able to raise the financial end of prostate cancer research to the levels available to breast cancer research, we would be able to accomplish even more. I see the research expanding quite a bit over the next ten years, when the inequities of research funding are smoothed out." "Some of the content was beyond me," Rose admits, "but so much of it was structured to be understandable at a lay level. I can't recall being at a conference where I took so many notes. I just couldn't get it down fast enough." (CPCN is producing a DVD of the conference, which will be available from the CPCN website as soon as possible.) Rose is grateful to the organizations that either subsidized or sponsored prostate cancer support group reps and facilitators to be at the conference. He felt it was beneficial that some of the facilitators at the conference represented other cancer research groups, and he acknowledges the importance of receiving training in group facilitation, training that the Canadian Cancer Society provided to him. Rose was accompanied at the conference by his wife Pat, who has been his constant support throughout his six years as a prostate cancer survivor. The CPCN placed DVDs about erectile dysfunction and the HIFU laser treatment in each delegate bag; Rose has decided to place his copies in his local group's library of resource material. He also feels that the CD he received about developing group presentations at the local level will be an invaluable tool. "After this conference, I really do feel hopeful and uplifted about the research that is being done," Rose concludes. "I feel that the image of prostate cancer is really shifting: people are no longer considering it as 'just an old man's disease.'" |
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