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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 • SUBSCRIBE • contact the editor • visit the cpcn website |
Reef Knot Award Winners 2007  Three men were honoured at the CPCN reception held Thursday evening during the 2007 prostate cancer conference. D. H. Curtis LeGrow, Steve Smith (a.k.a. Red Green), and Dr. Paul Whelan were each presented with a Canadian Prostate Cancer Reef Knot Award acknowledging their excellent service in the fight against prostate cancer. D.H. Curtis LeGrow has been active for many years in building support networks for men with prostate cancer and in raising public awareness of the disease. He has served these causes both at the provincial and national level from positions of leadership, having been, at various times, the chair, co-chair, or director of support groups, committees, and networks in his own province and beyond. D.H. Curtis LeGrow's Reef Knot Award citation acknowledges his "untiring efforts in furthering the awareness and support of prostate cancer in Newfoundland and Labrador" and "his dedicated service as both a Director and Chairman of the Canadian Prostate Cancer Network." But the Reef Knot Award is not the only recognition of the excellence of Curtis LeGrow's work. In 2001, he was awarded the prestigious Canadian Cancer Society Citation of Merit, in part, for his service as co-chair of the Walk A Mile In His Shoes Committee. This initiative, which sees prostate cancer survivors, their friends and family, and community members collect pledges and participate in a walk, is still going strong. According to a recent article, Walk A Mile In His Shoes continues to be the most successful prostate cancer awareness program in Newfoundland/Labrador. In 2006, walkers at 30 separate sites raised more than $90,000. Steve Smith (a.k.a. Red Green) has lent his name and his fame to one of the most successful Canadian Prostate Cancer Network campaigns ever. Two very effective television public service announcements featured the king of duct tape. In the announcements, and very much in character, Red Green directs men to talk to their doctors and "get tested" for prostate cancer. The main message: "Remember, you're never to old to do something smart!" (View these television spots.) CPCN also produced and distributed brochures, posters, bookmarks, and rack cards sporting Red Green's picture and versions of the same message. As CPCN President Bob Shiell remarked at the time, "This is some of the best exposure we could ever hope for." And Red Green and his team were active participants in developing this campaign. Shocked by information on the prevalence of prostate cancer and with his awareness of the disease raised because of the experiences of a friend, Steve Smith was determined to help. "I began to get the sense that I could help to raise awareness on a national level," says Smith. "I get correspondence from this age group all the time, and I thought that there might be something I could do to help reach these men and get them to think about prostate health." Mission accomplished! Dr. Paul Whelan, founding director of the McMaster Institute of Urology and the Braley-Gordon chair of Urology at McMaster University, was also instrumental in developing the public awareness campaign featuring friend and occasional golf partner Steve Smith. The story goes that Dr. Whelan invited Smith to a special men-only evening entitled "It's A Man's Thing." The evening, which was hosted by the McMaster Institute of Urology, included a dinner and various presentations on prostate health. Not long after, Whelan and Smith began talking about what Red Green might do to raise prostate cancer awareness. But Dr. Paul Whelan is a Reef Knot Award winner for many other reasons. He is a tireless advocate for the improvement of surgical and urological care. His vision for the McMaster Institute of Urology is to create an integrated academic and clinical centre that will "provide the best clinical care, education, and research in Canada," as well as "leading edge technology and sensitive, compassionate care." And his efforts have turned St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton into one of the busiest laparoscopic prostate surgery centres in Canada. The Reef Knot Award also recognizes Dr. Whelan's "distinguished career in research and surgical innovation relating to prostate cancer" and "his advocacy in stressing the importance of early detection and lay support in the treatment of the disease." The Canadian Prostate Cancer Network is very grateful to these three men. |
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