The Prostate Zone

Successful Information Event

Despite the bleak weather last Wednesday night, a good crowd turned out to hear four keynote speakers discuss Prostate Cancer and You.

As part of International Men’s Health Week, Bayside-Kingston Prostate Cancer Support Group organised this special information evening at the Hampton Senior Citizens’ Centre.

Generous sponsorship was provided by the Lions Club (Sandringham), Bendigo Community Bank (Dingley) and Hocking Stuart.  Attendees enjoyed delicious finger food (thanks to the caterers, Party Food Melbourne).  Coffee and tea were kindly supplied by members of the local Country Women’s Association.

The venue was provided by the Bayside City Council, and Brighton Bayside Life Activities Club supplied the sound system.

Keynote Speakers

The first speaker for the night was Dr Daniel Moon, urologist, who fielded many questions from audience members during his presentation.  Daniel covered such issues as PSA testing, the use of MRI-guided biopsies, decision making and the range of treatments currently in use.

Sarah Rudd, continence physiotherapist, spoke next.  She reviewed the male anatomy to explain its complexity and the importance of properly performed pelvic floor exercises, both before and after treatment.  Sarah made sure that we were all awake by getting us out of our seats to do the “nuts to guts” pelvic floor exercise.

After a short break, David Gray, urology nurse practitioner, spoke about his role in assisting men and their partners throughout the prostate cancer journey.  David also mentioned his work at the Australian Prostate Centre in North Melbourne, and the wide range of services that they have available for men (and women).

The final speaker was Kate Williams, accredited exercise physiologist.  Kate discussed the importance of physical activity, not only for general health, but especially in dealing with treatment side-effects such as fatigue, weight gain, muscle loss, depression and anxiety.  She talked about recent studies that have confirmed the importance of appropriate exercise.

Importance of Collaboration

All speakers were extremely generous with their time and expertise.  The broad range of questions from the audience reflected the need for collaboration and cross-referral between various arms of the medical fraternity and allied health.

Showbags full of information were provided to all attendees.  These bags included booklets and brochures from:-

• Prostate Cancer Foundation Australia,
• Andrology Australia,
• Check Your Tackle,
• Laugh Without Leaking (Continence Foundation of Australia),
• Department of Veterans’ Affairs,
• Cancer Council Victoria and
• Australian Prostate Centre.

The speakers also provided information that was included in the bags.

Special Thanks

This event could not have succeeded without the considerable help from members of the Bayside-Kingston Prostate Cancer Support Group.  In particular, I would like to thank Tony Carr (who instigated the event), Vern Smith (and his wife, Barbara), Rocky Restaino (and his wife, Lucy).

My sincere thanks to all four of our wonderful guest speakers, without whom the evening would never have happened.

If you couldn’t attend this event and you’d like to receive some of the information that was included in the showbags, please contact me by email or by phone to 0407 617 800.