Back ground

Prostate Cancer is the most common cancer in men and around 400,000 men are living with prostate cancer in the UK, an increase of 25% on last year.  Between 1st April 2017 to 31 March 2018 there were 163 newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients in Southport and West Lancashire, an increase of just 5% on 2016/17.

The Southport & West Lancashire Prostate Cancer Support Group is a self-help support group led by people affected by prostate cancer, with Health Care Professionals in attendance at most support group and planning meetings.

Meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month, usually at Hurlston Hall, 19.00hrs – 21.00hrs.

Committee Members and Group Organisers attend planning meetings four times per year - the second Friday in January, April, July & Oct. to evaluate feedback from members and plan future meetings and events.

Each month flyers about the next meeting are sent by email or post to the members. These are also distributed electronically to the local Clinical Commissioning Group (GP’s), Healthwatch, Council for Voluntary Sector organisations, Southport & West Lancs Macmillan Centres, Age Concern, carers groups, libraries and other appropriate local organisations.  

Support Group information leaflets are available in Southport & Ormskirk Urology departments and Renacres Hospital and the Cancer Services Dept circulated the leaflet to all GP surgeries.  Members also take these leaflets to their place of work etc. 

Our Facebook page helps to promote the group and raise awareness about Prostate Cancer. The website, which was launched in October 2016, is being used to update and inform members of what is happening within the group. Additionally, it is a source of information and support for newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients, without actually providing any clinical information.

Members of the support group have had a stall at the Macmillan Health & Well – Being events, 15^th March, 19^th July & 1^st Nov 2018 to provide information about the group.

We work closely with Prostate Cancer UK and were awarded the Affiliate ‘Level of Engagement’ in July 2014. It was decided that an upgrade to partnership level would provide the group with no perceivable benefits.

Who are the group members?

This group is for men with prostate cancer, their wives, partners and other family members.

New members complete a form and these details are entered onto a data base and this is used to send flyers, either by email or post, prior to each monthly meeting.

We currently have 245+ members (including men, wives, partners and family members) on the database. We have had 31 new members join between January and December 2018.

Members of the Urology Team attended most meeting.

Purpose of the group

“We aim to improve access to information, support and advice provided for those affected by Prostate Cancer”

The purpose of the group is to provide information and peer support.  Meetings provide an opportunity for men diagnosed with Prostate Cancer, their families/friends to meet others in a similar situation to share their experiences and support each other. The group aims to prevent members from feeling isolated and provide a safe, confidential environment where they can talk about problems.

Medical advice about an individual's illness should always be obtained from a qualified medical practitioner.

Guest Speakers for 2018                     

We have guest speakers at most meetings delivering a variety of topics, some, but not all, are medical.  However, there are members of the Urology Team at most meeting to ensure appropriate information and support is made available.

Topics covered from Jan 2018 to Dec 2018 have included;

A Prostate Cancer Diagnosis, the carer’s perspective – speaker Dorothy Sugden

Taking back control of my follow-up – speaker Emma McComish.

Physiotherapy Post Prostatectomy – speaker Katie Mann.

Hormonal Therapy for metastatic prostate cancer, what should I expect? – speaker Chris Johnstone.

Preparing for radiotherapy – speaker Sophie Large.

An update on Macmillan’s services in Southport and West Lancs given by Julia Fahey and Caroline Flynn.

Ask The Experts where a panel of medical experts answered members questions.

A Quiz Night and a talk on experiences as a police officer, together with the Midsummer Meal at Southport & Ainsdale Golf Club in July and Christmas Meal at Hurlston Hall in January completed the calendar.

Unfortunately the March meeting had to be cancelled due to inclement weather.

Feedback from Members

Feedback is an ongoing process with members voicing their opinions to committee members and to the Urology Team. 

Financial Summary    See attached financial Statement as of 31^st December 2018  

The bank account and petty cash currently stands at £******. We would like to thank those members who have made donations during the past year.  We now have a Standing Order proforma, which can be downloaded from our website, should anyone wish to make regular donations. 

A small raffle is organised at each meeting (except Christmas meal) to raise funds to help with the running costs. Items for the raffle are donated by the members.

Plans for next 12 months

We plan to continue to meet on the first Thursday of every month.  In addition to providing support to members, we will continue to raise awareness about Prostate Cancer and our support group.  We are constantly looking at ideas suggested by our members to raise awareness and to do some fundraising activities.

Thanks to

• All our members and Health Care Professionals who have been involved in setting up the ‘The Southport & West Lancashire Prostate Cancer Support Group’ and regularly attending meetings.

The group is also a member of Prostate Cancer Support North West and we are grateful to them for their support, including the use of their Charity number along with access to other resources.  As a member of this network we will be submitting a copy of both the Annual & Finance Reports, as well as submitting a copy of both to Sue Boyes at Prostate Cancer UK.