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Prostate Cancer Support Group
| Time: |
5:00 - 7:00 p.m. |
| Date: |
First Thursday of each month |
| Where: |
1. Marshfield Clinic - Marshfield Center - Melvin Laird Bldg, Rm 0050
2. Large conference room by Urgent Care if Laird Bldg is unavaiable.
3. Marshfield Clinic - Weston Center 1st floor conference room |
The leadership team consists of:
- Richard Nesbitt, a Certified Physician Assistant with the Marshfield Clinic, as the Coordinator.
- Andy Ruzeck, prostate cancer survivor, support group facilitator in Marshfield.
- Mark Moser, prostate cancer survivor, support group facilitator in Weston.
- Cheryl Vircks, RN, support group contact person in Weston.
- Bob Foltz, cofounder of prostate cancer survivor, advisor.
- Bill Neville, cofounder of prostate cancer survivor, advisor.
- Dennis Schelling, prostate cancer survivor, adviser.
We welcome your calls or emails. Rich has a list of men and women who speak with you one-on-one to provide information about the cancer support group. The members will share their experience within the cancer support group.
You can reach Bill in Neillsville at 715-743-2448, Bob in Marshfield at 715-384-9419, Andy in Marshfield at 715-384-3867, Cheryl in Weston at 391-1403, and Rich at 715-384-3489 (h) or 715-847-3223 (w). Mark will meet with you when you come to the support group meeting in Weston. You can contact Rich by email on the contact page of this web site.
New people are always welcome to join us at a meeting; just drop in. Our meetings are free and open to anyone with an interest in prostate cancer or the topic of discussion. Rich sends out a monthly flyer to the members and posts a flyer in Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Urology, and 7 North at the hospital. If the topic is of interest to you please join us.
Trish Larson is the American Cancer Society Navigator at the Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield. She can be reached at 715-387-5601 or 800-841-8300. She can provide you information about prostate cancer and she can put you in touch with someone from the cancer support group.
The American Cancer Society web site (http://www.cancer.org/docroot/home/index.asp) - go there to find a cancer support group that is available in your area.
To learn more about Us Too or find a Chapter in your area go to: (http://www.ustoo.com/), or email them at: ustoo@ustoo.org. The address for Us Too, Int. is 5003 Fairview Avenue, Downers Grove, IL 60515 or call (630) 795-1002 / Fax: (630) 795-1602. The Prostate Cancer (PCa) Support Hotline is (800) 80-Us TOO (800-808-7866).
If you are interested in participating in the support group, contact the Marshfield Clinic Center in your area to share this interest. If enough people are interested from your community an AV bridge connection could be started.
We hold a picnic in July at the Wild Wood Park in Marshfield and a Christmas party in December at the Marshfield Senior Center. Members and their families are invited.
September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.
National Prostate Cancer Awareness Week is September 15th -- 21st, 2008.
We support cancer awareness each year. We encourage all men in the community to see their family physician for a yearly digital rectal exam and PSA blood test to screen for prostate cancer). The members of this support group feel men should begin prostate cancer screening between ages 40-45 instead of age 50 as it is cited in other references. We've had 3 members from this support group who were diagnosed below 50 years of age. If you are an African-American male or if you have a family history of prostate cancer, our group feels you should begin prostate screening between ages 35-40. We encourage you to communicate your concerns to you doctor and together you can come up with a mutual agreement for when prostate cancer screening should start for you based on you health, family history, and ethnic origin.
No one knows the exact cause of prostate cancer, but it is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in American men. It is usually a slow-growing type of cancer, but can be aggressive. More than 70 percent of all prostate cancers are found in men over the age of 65 and the disease rarely occurs in men under 40.
All men are at risk, but some more than others. These risk factors are considered important: Age is the strongest risk factor; the incident goes up sharply as you get older. Your risk is higher than average if your father or brother had the disease. Men that are concerned about their inherited risk of cancer should talk with their family doctor or see a health professional trained in genetics. Prostate cancer is more common in African American men than in Caucasian or Hispanic men and less common in Asian and American Indian men. Some researchers suggest high levels of the male hormone (testosterone) may increase a man's risk. Other studies suggest that eating a diet high in meats or animal fats may increase the risk, whereas diet rich in fruits and vegetables or diet that includes tomato-based foods may lower the risk. Smoking, obesity, lack of exercise, prostate enlargement, prior vasectomy, sexually transmitted disease do not appear to be as important as they once were for risk factors. We encourage you to speak with your family doctor about you risk factors.
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