How it All Started...
York Prostate Cancer Support Group was founded in 2000 by York Hospital Consultant Urologist Mike Stower, Urology Nurse Specialist Allison Brandom and prostate cancer patients, John Lancaster, Keith Paver and Bryan Metcalf.
Our purpose is and always has been to provide comfort and support for men and their families, at the time when they learn they have developed prostate cancer and then afterwards throughout the course of their illness and their treatment.
While we always try to provide up to date information for our members, particularly so by introducing specialist guest speakers at our meetings, we never give medical advice to individual members or make recommendations with regard to their individual medical treatments.
Guest Speakers at Support Group Meetings
Because of our close association with York Hospital, we benefit from having a Macmillan Urology Nurse Specialist at each of our York Hospital meetings. Also, from time to time we invite as guest speakers Urology and Oncology consultants from York Hospital to talk to us. As a patient led support group, we are always actively seeking ways to improve our offer to prostate cancer patients and their loved ones.
Where and When We Meet
We usually only held four quarterly meetings at York Hospital on Monday evenings, between 5.30pm and 7pm.
We occasionally also meet at York Sports Club, Shipton Road, York, commencing at 7pm. These extra meetings will not be time limited and they will provide more opportunities for socialising. We also think that the York Sports Club meetings will be more accessible for working age patients, who may previously have had difficulty attending the earlier starting meetings at York hospital.
See our forthcoming meetings here.
As well as providing mutual support for our members, we also try to increase awareness of prostate cancer within the broader York and Selby community. During recent years, we have accepted invitations to speak at company wellbeing days, we have distributed leaflets and talked to customers at supermarkets and we have provided information and advice to visitors and patients passing through the main reception hall at York hospital. Our support group is headed by Vernon Janes and Ken George who are supported by a small committee. In total, we are currently 37 members and inter-member communication is normally by phone or email.
New Members are Always Welcome!
We are always ready to welcome new prostate cancer patients and their partners to our meetings. Do feel free to come along and join us.