2023

29th November. Mr Peter Cooke MD FRCS(Urol) Consultant Urological Surgeon from the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, came to deliver a most interesting presentation to our largest audience since prior to the pandemic. Of great value was the question and answer session afterwards.

31st October - Tony Kelly, A diabetes strategic patient partner for the Birmingham and Solihull ICS (Integrated Care System) gave us a great presentation on diabetes - what it is, the difference between type 1 and type 2, symptoms and what we can do ourselves to keep type 2 at bay.

26th September - We had Martin Conlon of the Shirley Lions as a Guest Speaker talking to us about the Shirley Lion's experiences of running local PSA blood testing events. The services they use is the Graham Fulford Charitable Trust . Their most recent event was 2nd September where 209 men where tested.

29th August -  A "Roundtable" event.

25th July. Our guest speaker was Harriet Lee RN of Prostate Cancer Research (PCR), Communities and Communications Executive who talked to us about the great new resource: The Infopool

27th June - A "Roundtable" event.

30th May - We watched an informative video: Prostate Cancer: A Cancer epidemic of the modern age; Professor Vincent Gnanapragasam, CUH Consultant Urologist and Professor of Urology at the University of Cambridge. To view please click  link here

25th April - We reviewed the information sheet that had been prepared for patients after undergoing a prostatectomy at UHB: 

Self-Management: CHESTNUT

Here are some tips from men who have been down the same route as you and have had their prostate removed. It’s a list of things that you can do for yourself to help you get back in control of things.

Continence. Be patient, it will take time and in the short-term you will have to learn how to manage the leakage that most men get straight after this surgery. Learn what pads work best for you. Do your pelvic floor exercises regularly and learn how and when they help, watch what you eat and drink as this might have an impact but resist the temptation to drink less fluids.  If you are not staying pretty dry after 12 months then seek further professional help to get it dealt with. You would call a plumber if you had a dripping tap at home and couldn’t fix it yourself, wouldn’t you?

Head. You’ve been through some traumas – the diagnosis and then the surgery. It’s time to look after your head. What works for you to help you relax and deal with anxiety and get back to enjoying life? If you’ve lost your sense of humour along the way – go find it again, it will help you and others. Get help if you need it- It’s a sign of strength not weakness. 

Exercise. There’s no doubt if exercise was a medicine in tablet form we would be all taking one everyday. What can you do to get moving again? Start with regular daily walks and go from there. You don’t need to get a dog just set yourself some easily achievable goals.

Sex and Intimacy. It might not be your top priority and you probably know that some things are not going to be the same again- so it’s time to adapt and learn some new tricks and techniques which you might need some help with, don’t be shy - don’t neglect this.

Testing. Going forward you will be getting regular PSA blood tests for some time. It’s important that you stay on top of this. Men have lost track of this by moving house and accidentally or deliberately missing appointments. Don’t be that person.

Nutrition. There is no magic bullet here, you already know the answer that eating less fat, salt and sugar and more whole grains, fruit and vegetables won’t do you any harm and might just do you some good and certainly keep your bowels regular!

Usefulness. Look for the silver lining that the cloud of a prostate cancer diagnosis has. Can you save a life by spreading the facts about the risks of prostate cancer and importance of early diagnosis? Speak to your family and friends. Challenge myths and misinformation.

Talking to Someone. If in doubt, ask questions and remember that there is no such thing as a stupid question – speak to your Clinical Nurse Specialist, your local Support Group or to the Prostate Cancer UK Specialist Nurses on 0800 074 8383. You are not alone.

28th March - We received feedback from the recent Tackle AGM and National Conference

28th Feb - Our speaker was Gerard Greene a local physiotherapist and a professional with an international reputation on men's pelvic health, He spoke about recovery after treatment.

31st January A "Roundtable"meeting focussed on goalsetting for 2023

2022

13th December - Christmas measl at the Wilsons Arms.

29th November - Last meeting of the year. A "Roundtable" format looking back over 2022 and forwards to 2023

25th October - We were joined by video link by Dr Steve Allen, a trustee of Tackle Prostate Cancer, on continence and what can be done to regain continence after treatment. Very good feedback received.

27th September - We held our second "Roundable" session. Again we received good feedback on this format.

30th August - We heard about the Strategy of Tackle Prostate Cancer, the presentation made by the Patient Advocates to the Urology  Expert Advisorty Group (EAG) of the West Midlands Cancer Alliance (WMCA) and about the new resource being built by Prostate Cancer Research that will be known as the Infopool. 

26th July - We had informative talks from two speakers: Pam Khokhar, Macmillan Benefits Caseworker, Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) Solihull

28th June - We held our first "Rountable" session following what we heard was successful at other groups. We set up five round tables with approx 8-10 people on each table who shared tips and experiences with eachother. The consensus was that this was a format that we should use every 3 or so months.

13th-14th June - A number of the group attended the Birmingham Buddy Training session. This two day session was atended by representatives from 3 groups where attendees all learned how to be "Buddies" to men newly diagnosed with Prostate Cancer.

31st May - We heard feedback from the West Midlands regional meeting of Tackle Prostate Cancer - where we had a few members of our group meeting up with representatives from six of our neighbouring groups in the West Midlands area. We came away with some useful ideas for future group meetings.

26th April -  Renita Horton Prostate Consultant Radiographer of the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust  gave a talk about radiotherapy. Her role includes new MDT referrals of prostate cancer patients for consideration of radiotherapy, prescribing of radiotherapy, planning of radiotherapy, on-treatment review of prostate cancer patients, research, education.

29th March - Professor Alan Wing and Dr  Winnie Chua from The University of Birmingham School of Psychology gave a very informative talk about his personal experience of prostate cancer and planned research into how patients experience and deal with Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral Neuropathy (CIPN) - a side effect of Chemotherapy treatment.

22nd February - A review of the ongoing Prostate Cancer UK awareness campaign to "find the missing 14,000 men" and a discussion about what we can do as a group.

25th January - Two topics tonight: a review of the latest NPCA (National Prostate Cancer Audit) Report and "A patients experience of Chemotherapy" 

2021

December - No meeting, we did manage to have a small group getting together for the annual Christmas Dinner at the Wilsons Arms.

30th November - David James, Head of Patient Projects - Prostate Cancer Research joined via Zoom to tell us about ongoing and future projects

26th October - Buddy Schemes

28th September - The Science of Nutrition and Prostate Cancer

31st August - Return to face to face meeting with a summary of the Zoom meetings since that start of lockdown

27th July - Being Physically Active - summary of importance of Physical Activity generally and when diagnosed and bring treated for Prostate Cancer

13th July - We watched the UsToo webinar by Laurence Klotz, MD, FRCSC - Professor of Surgery, University of Toronto, on Novel tools in the Active Surveillance pathway

29th June - Andrew Gabriel on Brachytherapy (recorded session see video links page)

15th June -We watched the Us-Too Webinar on Biomarkers

25th May - Review of Return to face-to-face meeting survey

11th May - Review of US-Too Webinar on Bone Heath and Nutrition (See video links for full Webinar)

27th April - Review of Europa Uomo EUROPROMS study and Mohit Mitra from iMEDicare Ltd on Penile rehabilitation

13th April - Group discussion on returning to face to face meetings

30th March - Andrew Gabriel - Surviving Hormone Therapy

9th March - Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy at UHB - A patient's experience (see video links for a recorded version)

23rd February - Prostate Cancer UK Specialist Nurses Q and A

9th February - Prostate Cancer Research (PCR) - The organisation, what it does and how we can help, David James

26th January - 18F PSMA PET/CT Scan at UHB - A patient's experience (see video links for a recorded version)

12th January - 'Facing the Tiger' - Reactions when first diagnosed

2020

December: Christmas Quiz Night

November: Running into Prostate Cancer, Anthony Collier

November : Pelvic Floor Recovery: Gerard Greene, Physiotherapist

October - We joined the Prostate Cancer UK webinar : Our Research, Why it Matters, Why you Matter

September - Dr Stephen Allen : Sexual Dysfunction

September - We joined Edinburgh and Lothian Support Group for a webinar by Prof Hamdy on Prostate Cancer Developments

August - National Prostate Cancer Audit (NPCA) results 

July - How Hormone Therapy Treatment works - Andrew Gabriel

July - We Joined the FOPS group for a Consultant Q and A

July - Live review of the Movember True North Website

June - Dr Stephen Allen: A 12 year personal history of prostate cancer

May - Surviving Hormone Treatment by Andrew Gabriel

May - We joined the Re-Imagine Trial Webinar by Prof Emberton

May - John Robinson, Prostate Cancer UK Specialist Nurse Q and A

April - Critical Thinking

March - Our First Virtual Zoom meetimg - geting Zoom up and running

February  - Birgita Keenan - Medical Detection Dogs

January - Dr. Chris Ward - Research Fellow, The University of Birmingham: Using nanotechnology to develop a test to accurately show how aggressive someone's prostate cancer is.

2019

December: Christmas social

November: Mr Prashant Patel, Consultant Urologist and Dr Veronica Nanton, Snr Research Fellow Warwick Medical School : The CHAT-P platform - holistic needs for prostate cancer patients

October: Robin Paijmans, Lead Clinical Psychologist, UHB : Dealing with the Cancer diagnosis

September: Mr Alan Doherty, Consultant Urological Surgeon UHB and Clinical Director Birmingham Prostate Clinic

August: Richard Gledhill, Prostate Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) and Urology MDT lead UHB

July: Dr Francesco Crea MD PhD, Senior Lecturer in Cancer Genetics, School of Life Heath and Chemical Sciences, The Open University: Research into the molecular mechanisms of prostate cancer progression and its relevance to treatments

June: Peter Woodward - Feedback from TACKLE AGM

May: Tervinda Matharu : The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, Department of Medical Physics: Prostate Cancer Radiotherapy treatment "Behind the scenes" radiotherapy and surgical cases

April: Elaine Smith - Cardiac Rehab Sister: Coronary Care Unit Solihull Hospital, Cardiac Rehabilitation, Maintaining wellbeing and cardiovascular fitness

March: Jessica Burton, Clinical Lead Nurse, Solihull Continence Advice Service

February: Professor Nick James - Stampede Update

January: Dr Dan Ford, Consultant Clinical Oncologist: Robotic Radiotherapy, the future for Prostate Cancer?

2018

December: Christmas social

November: Sarah Emery and Tilly Tromans,  Solihull IAPT Service

October: Mr Prashant Patel, Consultant Urological Surgeon and Senior Lecturer in Urology QEH

September: Video Screenings

August: Mr Vivek K. Wadhwa,  Consultant Urological Surgeon and Brian Harrigan Journalist and Author “A Tale of Two Cancers”

July: Ayo Kalejaiye,  Consultant Andrologist

June: Roger Wotton, Tackle Prostate Cancer

May: Mohit Mitra, iMEDicare Ltd – Vacuum Pumps

April: Gerard Greene, Pelvic Health Physiotherapist

March: Dr Anjali Zarkar, Consultant Oncologist

February: Professor Maria De Santis, Consultant Oncologist

January: Mr Richard Viney, Consultant Surgeon