Download October 2015 - Prostate Cancer Support Group

October 21st – Dr. Andrew Feifer, Credit Valley Hospital
Last month we welcomed Dr. Jordan Robertson as our guest speaker. Dr. Robertson is
a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine, Acupuncturist and a faculty member for the Bachelor
of Health Sciences programme at McMaster University. Naturopathic Cancer Care is a
collaborative effort between the patient, their conventional Medical team and a
Naturopathic Doctor. Dr. Jordan discussed the types of treatments and research being
done at her office with respect to prostate cancer.
This month, Dr. Andrew Feifer from Credit Valley Hospital will be our guest speaker. Dr.
Feifer is a Mississauga-based urologist and staff surgeon who treats genitourinary
cancers at Trillium Health Partners’ Fidani Cancer Centre at Credit Valley Hospital,
previously at New York City’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre and Harvard
University.
Dr. Feifer will speak to us about advances in prostate cancer care at Credit Valley
Hospital and hopes to cover everything from the PSA screening controversy to the
future for robotic surgery at Credit Valley Hospital.
We are always ready to welcome new members to the friendly, no-pressure
environment of Wellspring Birmingham-Gilgan House. Whether you want to come once
or on a regular basis, please know that the group is there for you, ready with
experience, encouragement, understanding and support. Whatever stage of the
disease you are at, there will be someone who can relate to what you are going
through. We understand that some men are reluctant to open up on a first visit and we
are quite happy if you choose just to sit and listen. The choice is yours.
All our meetings are free, drop-in, events and newcomers will be given a warm
welcome. Please join us. We do encourage wives and partners to join the men.
Remember, prostate cancer is a “couples disease”.
In the News:
Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in North American men and is the
second leading cause of cancer death among white, African-American and Hispanic
men.
It is well known that prostate cancer can either grow slowly and be unlikely to cause
problems in a man's lifetime - or spread aggressively and require urgent treatment. The
challenge is to develop a reliable way to distinguish them.
For the first time, scientists have discovered that prostate cancer can be categorized
into five different types - a finding that may prove to be "game-changing," according to a
new study. The findings, published recently in the journal EBioMedicine, may have
important clinical implication for the future. Doctors can now hope to identify which
tumors are present in patient's body, whether they are likely to spread aggressively and
grow, and treatment could be tailored based on a specific tumor.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/categories/prostate
In 2010, scientists discovered breast cancer to be at least ten different diseases, each
with its own unique genetic signature, using an integrated genomic approach in
stratifying disease. Using the same approach, this new study discovered five distinct
types of prostate cancer, each with a characteristic genetic fingerprint, much like the
study in 2010 on breast cancer.
What's New at Prostate Cancer Canada:
Toronto –September 30, 2015 – A multi-disciplinary team of scientists and clinicians
led by Dr. John Bell of The Ottawa Hospital is developing a treatment for prostate
cancer using viruses that destroy cancer cells and boost the anti-cancer immune
response, all the while leaving normal cells unharmed. Dr. John Bell and his team are
world leaders in the development of viral therapies. This team has been selected by
Prostate Cancer Canada to receive $5 million through to 2020 from Movember to
develop a viral therapy customized to treat prostate cancer. While viral therapies have
shown promise in laboratory studies , they are experimental and in early clinical testing.
As the research advances, the team aims to offer a clinical trial to patients whose
prostate cancer has spread and become resistant to conventional treatment.