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| July 06, 2008 - Welcome! You are visitor number: 73327 since January 9, 2003.
Site updated: June 30, 2008
Meeting Location: 1st Presbyterian Church, 838 N. Euclid St., Fullerton, CA 92632 (1 3/4 miles North of the Euclid Street exit on the 91 Freeway) Next evening meeting 4th Thursday, July 24, 2008. Newly Diagnosed Class ("Prostate Basics“): Leader - one of our Directors Place: 2nd Thursdays, in the Library at the First Presbyterian Church of Fullerton, 4th Thursdays, in the Music Room - signs will guide you. Newly Diagnosed Classes for July and August, 2008 as follows: Afternoon classes: 2nd Thursdays, July 10 and August 12, 11.00 a.m. - 12.45 p.m. Evening classes: 4th Thursdays, July 24 and August 28, 5.00 p.m. – 6.45 p.m. Recurrent/Advanced Group: Moderator: Robert P. Moore - volunteer Meets: 4th Thursday evenings, July 24 and August 28, 2008, 5.00 p.m. – 6.45 p.m. Place: The Music Room at the First Presbyterian Church of Fullerton- signs will guide you. CALL THE VOICE MAIL NUMBER (714) 607-9241 to learn about our meetings or request Prostate Information. MEETING LOCATION: First Presbyterian Church, 838 North Euclid Street, Fullerton, CA 92832 (located 1 3/4 mile north of Euclid exit on 91 Riverside Freeway) MAILING ADDRESS: Prostate Forum, 547 North Wrightwood Drive, Orange, CA 92869-2665 FUTURE MEETING NOTICES AVAILABLE BY E-MAIL: To receive these, scroll to the end of this page and enter your e-mail address in the space provided. To read about the history of the Prostate Forum of Fullerton, click this link:
OUR 2008 MONTHLY MEETING SCHEDULE: Afternoons: New day, 2nd Thursdays, 11.00 a.m. - 12.45 p.m. Class for the Newly Diagnosed, in the Library. Bring your own brown bag lunch. Open discussion meeting at 1.00 p.m. - 3.00 p.m. Discussion and sharing of new Prostate Cancer information and related questions. Meets in the Board Room, next to the parking lot, in front of the church. Evenings: New day, 4th Thursdays. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. for networking and obtaining materials. Speaker at 7:00 p.m until 8:45 p.m. Separate, concurrent sessions for the Newly Diagnosed and Recurrent/Advanced begin at 5.00 p.m. Both groups meet before each regular meeting at the Church - Newly Diagnosed and Recurrent/Advanced meet separately. Look for signs. Groups are adjourned early to permit attendees to network and review our resource area. Evening Meeting, 4th Thursday, July 24, 2008: Doors open at 6 PM to pick up information, videotapes, etc. Main program at 7 PM SPEAKER:To be announced SUBJECT: To be announced HELP, WE NEED YOUR HELPUNLESS WE RECEIVE SOME VOLUNTEER ASSISTANCE, WE WILL NECESSARILY HAVE TO CURTAIL OUR PROGRAMS The Prostate Forum of Fullerton is approaching its 15th anniversary. Several of our charter Directors now find it necessary to reduce their level of commitments, which threatens to impact the Prostate Forum’s level of service to prostate survivors and their families. Also, we have lost 4 of our hard working directors to other diseases, and are losing some others to age and to business commitments. WE MUST HAVE ADDITIONAL SUPPORT TO CONTINUE! We hold 2 meetings per month. Significant presentations are video-taped so that those who cannot, or are unable, to attend can still obtain the newest information. A free lending library of expert information is the result. Much effort is spent on planning programs to bring the most important experts in the Prostate Cancer arena to keep us all well informed. We offer opportunities for two important special groups for key issues: The “Newly Diagnosed” group to present the basic principles quickly; and the “Recurrent and/or Advanced Disease” group for those in that category. We offer hard copies of the latest, important articles and news and make available a lending library of the more important books – all free. We are out in the community spreading the word and informing the community of their needs and their options. An Internet website is maintained to alert our attendees, and other interested parties, to our upcoming programs and provide links to credible, informative prostate cancer related sites. Your Board of Directors meets once a month for several hours to ensure we are responding to and addressing the group’s real needs, and to establish directions and programs to support those needs. Our logo still says it all: we exist to Help – Education - Hope. Specific assignments which currently require volunteer support, are listed below. Many tasks have been subdivided for ease of accomplishment by new volunteers. We urge you to consider a position for which you could commit, even for 3-6 months. Experience is not a requirement – just a desire to contribute some of your time and energy. All of these tasks have been accomplished by many different persons over the years so the protocols are easy to learn. Even volunteering as a “2 person team” of willing helpers can allow each of the pair to continue travel plans, etc. Evening meetings are 4th Tuesdays, from 7-9 p.m.You will “giving something back” to the community which has provided a priceless service to you. 1. Audio technician: We will train 1 or 2 people to set up the audio for the evening meetings. 2. Videotape Librarian(s): We need a 2 person team to maintain the video library. This involves setting up the videotapes, logging out new ones and processing returned tapes. 3. Book Librarian: This too would be best handled by a 2 person team to control the borrowing and returning of our library books at the evening meetings. 4.Video Camera Operator: This requires another 2 person team to set up and videotape the evening presentations on 1 evening per month. This would include assisting the speaker with the usual computer and power point presentations or other visual aids. 5.Writer: Someone to condense the recorded words and principles of the evening meetings into a 1-2 page meaningful summary for mailing with our program flyer. 6. Group Moderator: A person to facilitate and moderate the process of the special group meeting focused on Late Stage/Advanced prostate cancer. 7. Publicity Manager: A person familiar with the basics and intricacies of publicizing the presence and capabilities of the Prostate Forum to work on making our mission and resources more widely known. This is your opportunity to volunteer in a significant and generous service to the men and their families who have been, and will be diagnosed with Prostate Cancer. Remember the help you needed when you were first diagnosed? If you recall how much support you received from our Prostate Forum, then perhaps – even for several months -, you will share your precious time, energy and expertise with the Board to accomplish an even greater good – together. To volunteer your service, please see a Board member or telephone us at (714) 607- 9241. From the Board of Directors, Prostate Forum of Fullerton Excerpts from "Cancer as a Turning Point" By LawrenceLe Shan Ph. D. One of the terrible things about serious illness is that it often reduces the person who has it to the role of a helpless bystander: everything seems up to how well the physicians can do their job, what new things are discovered in the laboratories, and so forth. We have to be passive and there is nothing much we can do but wait and suffer. Modern knowledge gives you a way to be active in your own search for health. You do not just have to sit and wait for the doctors to cure you or fail to cure you. Taking a part in determining our own testing changes how we feel about ourselves and our situation. Instead of helpless pawns in the hands of the illness and the medical profession, we are now embarked on an adventure. We may win or lose, but there is something we can do and influence what becomes of our lives. Sometimes when we are terribly ill, we can make the illness the turning point in our lives. Good luck on the adventure. ABOUT OUR MEETINGS: Although we neither support nor endorse our speakers or individual attendees’ positions or opinions, we do provide an OPEN forum and work at presenting, within limits, various interesting viewpoints.Presenters of all positions are encouraged to bring information, data and opinions to share with our attendees. Note that the views expressed are neither recommended nor endorsed by the Prostate Forum as a whole or by an individual member. Personal attacks or disparaging personal remarks are not permitted. We are an official chapter of the US-TOO Organization and continue to be sponsored by the American Cancer Society. We are also associated with PAACT - all organizations which provide prostate information and hope. We are a non-profit, charitable, volunteer organization with 501[c](3) status which should provide tax deductibility for donations to the Prostate Forum. Donations are needed to fund our support efforts. Support groups such as ours provide a forum for exchange of information and sharing experiences. The group helps each of us become more educated and therefore able to exert greater control over the disease.You will find that others DO care and the meetings are an opportunity to better deal with fear or pain as well as becoming better informed medically. We don’t offer medical advice, for that is the role of your physician. We do have need for volunteers for the work of the support group. Please call to contribute your expertise, talents, energy or time. SHARING OUR EXPERIENCES, IDEAS AND RESULTS....IN A SAFE PLACE. As always, there have been concerted requests to gather in small groups as in our earlier days of bonding, camaraderie and emotional support from others with our disease. What have you learned? How have you fared with your decisions? What, if anything would you do differently? What news have you heard, etc.? In a safe, caring place, we'll all have an opportunity to share our experiences, our concerns, ideas and questions. Attendees go home at the end of evening feeling better, more knowlegeable and hopeful for the future. It is an experience that only we, as a group of caring, interested Prostate Cancer survivors, can provide. It always offers hope and bonding with others in a similar condition. Our members are always seeking new and interesting resources to aid our understanding and treatment of prostate cancer. If you’ve read or found something you’d like to share, please make copies and bring them to the meetings. We maintain an extensive Video Library, free for borrowing with a $10 returnable deposit. Almost all of our expert presentations are available on tape along with tapes of major Prostate Cancer Conferences and special events. Visit our resource table at the rear of the meeting room.
Site updated: June 30, 2008MEETING LOCATION: First Presbyterian Church, 838 North Euclid Street, Fullerton, CA 92832 (located 1 3/4 mile north of the Euclid Street exit on 91 Riverside Freeway)CALL THE VOICE MAIL NUMBER (714) 607-9241 to learn about our meetings or request Prostate Information.MAILING ADDRESS: Prostate Forum, 547 North Wrightwood Drive, Orange, CA 92869-2665FUTURE MEETING NOTICES AVAILABLE BY E-MAIL: To receive these, scroll to the end of this page and enter your e-mail address in the space provided.To read about the history of the Prostate Forum of Fullerton, click this link:Next evening meeting 4th Thursday, July 24, 2008.About our Monthly Meetings:Afternoons: 2nd Thursdays, 11.00 a.m. - 12.45 p.m. Class for the Newly Diagnosed. Bring your own brown bag lunch. Open discussion meeting at 1.00 p.m. - 3.00 p.m. Discussion and sharing of new Prostate Cancer information and related questions. Meets in the Board Room, next to the parking lot, in front of the church. Evenings: 4th Thursdays. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. for networking and obtaining materials. Speaker at 7:00 p.m until 8:45 p.m. Separate Newly Diagnosed and Recurrent/Advanced meetings begin at 5.00 p.m. - before each regular meeting at the Church. Look for signs. Groups are adjourned early to permit attendees to network and review our resource area. Classes for the Newly Diagnosed:Afternoon classes – 2nd Thursdays: Evening classes – 4th ThursdaysJuly 10 11.00 am – 12.45 pm July 24 5.00 pm – 6.45 pmAugust 14 11.00 am - 12.45 pm August 28 5.00 pm – 6.45 pmSeptember 11 11.00 am – 12.45 pm September 25 5.00 pm – 6.45 pmOctober 9 11.00 am – 12.45 pm October 23 5.00 pm – 5.45 pmNovember 6 11.00 am – 12.45 pm November 20 5.00 pm – 6.45 pmDecember No MeetingsLeader - one of our DirectorsMeetings of the Recurrent/Advanced Group – all on 4th Thursday evenings:July 24 5.00 pm – 6.45 pmAugust 28 5.00 pm – 6.45 pm September 25 5.00 pm – 6.45 pmOctober 23 5.00 pm – 5.45 pm November 20 5.00 pm – 6.45 pmDecember No MeetingsModerator: Robert P. Moore – volunteer____________________________________________________Evening Meetings: Dates, Speakers and SubjectsJuly 24 through November 20, 2008 – All Speakers at 7 pm: July 24, 2008SPEAKER: To be announced SUBJECT: To be announcedSpeakers: Subjects: July 24: TBA TBAAugust 28: Dr. Jacques Souadjian TBASeptember 25: Dick & Dee Howe You can have a wonderful life after PCOctober 23: Dr. Rose IMRTNovember 20: Dr. “Snuffy” Myers Treatment of Advanced PCDecember: No Speaker___________________________________________________________________ABOUT OUR MEETINGS: Although we neither support nor endorse our speakers or individual attendees’ positions or opinions, we do provide an OPEN forum and work at presenting, within limits, various interesting view points. Presenters of all positions are encouraged to bring information, data and opinions to share with our attendees. Note that the views expressed are neither recommended nor endorsed by the Prostate Forum as a whole or by an individual member. Personal attacks or disparaging personal remarks are not permitted. We are an official chapter of the US-TOO Organization and continue to be sponsored by the American Cancer Society. We are also associated with PAACT - all organizations which provide prostate information and hope. We are a non-profit, charitable, volunteer organization with 501[c](3) status which should provide tax deductibility for donations to the Prostate Forum. Donations are needed to fund our support efforts. Support groups such as ours provide a forum for exchange of information and sharing experiences. The group helps each of us become more educated and therefore able to exert greater control over the disease. You will find that others DO care and the meetings are an opportunity to better deal with fear or pain as well as becoming better informed medically. We don’t offer medical advice, for that is the role of your physician. We do have need for volunteers for the work of the support group. Please call to contribute your expertise, talents, energy or time. SHARING OUR EXPERIENCES, IDEAS AND RESULTS....IN A SAFE PLACE. As always, there have been concerted requests to gather in small groups as in our earlier days of bonding, camaraderie and emotional support from others with our disease. What have you learned? How have you fared with your decisions? What, if anything would you do differently? What news have you heard, etc.? In a safe, caring place, we'll all have an opportunity to share our experiences, our concerns, ideas and questions. Attendees go home at the end of evening feeling better, more knowledgeable and hopeful for the future. It is an experience that only we, as a group of caring, interested Prostate Cancer survivors, can provide. It always offers hope and bonding with others in a similar condition. Our members are always seeking new and interesting resources to aid our understanding and treatment of prostate cancer. If you’ve read or found something you’d like to share, please make copies and bring them to the meetings. We maintain an extensive Video Library, free for borrowing with a $10 returnable deposit. Almost all of our expert presentations are available on tape along with tapes of major Prostate Cancer Conferences and special events. Visit our resource table at the rear of the meeting room.
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HISTORY OF THE PROSTATE FORUM OF FULLERTON March 1992 marked the inception of the Prostate Forum in Fullerton, CA by co-founders Bill Dehn,(now deceased, of ALS) and Murray Corwin, who is a Prostate Cancer survivor. Bill and Murray met in 1991 at a hospital support group meeting. Bill and Murray went to the meeting to pass out general information based on their own personal experiences and they were asked not to return. In December 1991, they decided to start an independent group of their own which would have the freedom to speak about and discuss the disease without any censorship or restrictions. In March 1992, they had a meeting place, a flyer, and a core group of thirteen men. The recall of many sad experiences with the disease is ever present, keeping us focused on the elements of our logo: HELP, EDUCATION AND HOPE. The 1st Presbyterian Church of Fullertonoffered a room for the meeting without charge, as part of their commitment to community service. At the first meeting, people sat in a circle describing their experiences, asking questions and getting some answers. We had early recognized that, in addition to the usual psycho-social support, newly diagnosed men needed detailed medical information to partner with their doctor in choosing an appropriate treatment. , Our name became the "Prostate Forum" as a model for open dialogue. We are an all volunteer organization with all informational materials, print and video, free to everyone. When we outgrew the "50 person max" Board room, the church provided the Fellowship Hall which can hold 150 persons, and has sufficed for most meetings. In special cases, for nationally renowned speakers, the church permits the use of the sanctuary which can hold 400. We have had more than 275 attendees when physicians such as Snuffy Myers, Stephen Strum or Bob Leibowitz are presenting. In 1996, a Board of Directors was established with men who are motivated,involved, analytical, have broad experience in different professional careers and are practical. They are business people, an attorney, engineers, an accountant, a mathematician, a geologist, etc. The current 15 directors bring broad vision to develop, and achieve the group’s objectives and provide different perspectives for guidance and oversight to reach our goals. They have become essential, providing leadership, review and direction. It is their active involvement, volunteering many hours in significant activity which permits the Forum to continue our valuable community contribution, and grow In 1998 a format of two meetings per month was established. Our main meeting is in the evening. The second meeting is in the afternoon, accommodating our older members, and those unable to drive at night. We also offer regular pre-meetings, often called "Prostate 101". These sessions are specifically designed to bring the newly diagnosed up to speed faster so they may better understand the level of information and sophistication which is usually presented by the many expert and famous speakers to our very knowledgeable audience. New members show up in numbers from 5-15 per month, so that in January 2003, the mail list contained 1140 members from 141 cities and towns. In April 2003, there will be 510 mail members with growth expected as before. A serious need continues for volunteers to share the many tasks necessary to produce an interesting and valuable experience but it is the Board members who end up taking care of continuing jobs. Volunteers are solicited: they could even serve for a short term on temporary assignments, if that is all the time they can spare. Anyone wishing to help is welcome. Please contact us to volunteer your expertise, special talents, energy or time. CO-FOUNDERS BACKGROUND: Murray was diagnosed in 1991 with a very early stage PCa and had several differing pathology opinions, leading him to research, as much as an informed medical lay-person can, at the medical libraries. Armed with some knowledge, he also participated in a local hospitals support group and quickly realized that most men diagnosed with Prostate Cancer had very little knowledge of their illness or their options. He exercised very careful, active "Observation" until in 1993 with a sudden rise in PSA velocity, Murray chose a treatment of: 4 months Complete Hormonal Blockade, then a 40% dose by Proton beam radiation at Loma Linda, followed by 60% pelvic radiation dose by Linear Accelerator at a local hospital. Results were excellent and no further treatment has been needed. Murray is retired from Aerospace, as an Electronic Engineer, Project Manager and finally in Human Resources as Manager of employee development and training. He was also Director of Ethics for the corporation. Collecting and sharing current prostate information occupies most of his time currently. Bill was diagnosed at an early stage and was treated in 1985. His first urologist’s recommendation for a radical prostatectomy at age 62 was unacceptable. A third opinion resulted in the unforgettable words: "You don’t have to pay the price of a radical - you are a candidate for radioactive seed implantation". After a week of researching medical journals at UCI Medical Library, Bill decided to go to Sloan-KetteringMemorialHospitalin New York, where they had pioneered this technique. A successful implanting of Iodine-125 by the old fashioned open body method kept his cancer under control.Bill was one of the most respected activists on the prostate cancer scenewith national recognition of his many extraordinary accomplishments Unfortunately, in 2001, Bill passed away, not from PCa, but from Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS). SPECIAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS: · We have become one of the largest, independent, and growing Prostate Cancer support groups. Our established credibility is such that distinguished urologists and oncologists now request an opportunity to make presentations to our group. Numerous physicians now refer patients to us and many post our flyers in their offices to alert their patients to the existence of a credible information source. They recognize that our attendees are truly informed, very knowledgeable and sensitive to the needs of the patient. We have feedback from many hundreds, if not thousands, of PCa survivors who have been helped. · We have available dozens of the most current, printed educational materials, always free. · We offer a complete video lending library which numbers more than 300 tapes. These include copies of all our guest speaker presentations, national symposium speakers as well as commercially produced materials. · We designed, produced and found funding for the first national Prostate Cancer Public Forums in 1995 and 1996. These conferences had programs with nationally renowned physicians speaking to lay audiences on the latest scientific information on prostate cancer, this was a first. Those Public Forums became a successful model for over a dozen similar symposia in the major cities of the country. By using lectures and self-selected workshops, we presented an opportunity for learning in depth as well as dialoging with the experts. The 1995 Forum attracted 850 attendees from 28 states; the 1996 attracted more than 1200 attendees. · We have had a Hotline since 1992 for persons to telephone for credible, authoritative information (NOT advice) delivered with sensitivity and counseling, which help allay the fears and terror associated with the Cancer diagnosis. In this function we have helped more than 2000 persons, primarily in Southern California, but also from all over the U.S. · We have become a credible, valuable and worthwhile source of information with many members of the medical community. · We have assisted the initiation of 4 other prostate cancer support groups in the Southern Californiaarea. · We became, in 1999, the largest chapter of US-Too International, providing us with a non-profit 501[c](3) status and offering donors tax deductibility for contributions. · We are affiliated with and partly supported by the American Cancer Society. · We are one of the founding members of the National Prostate Cancer Coalition (NPPC). · We are affiliated with PAACT (Patient Advocates for Advanced Cancer Treatment). · We have several members of the Board who are part of a "speakers bureau" to present information about prostate cancer at businesses, government offices and service organizations. Requests often come through the American Cancer Society. · We have provided 25 sets of 5 prostate cancer books to OrangeCountylibraries.
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If you wish to be informed by e-mail of the next programs of the Prostate Forum of Fullerton, you may subscribe below. Enter your current e-mail address in the space provided and click "subscribe": Please notify us when you change e-mail address. Send new e-mail address to: prostateforumfullerton@gmail.com Thank you!
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