Bev Lean (Chair)            	   	Ron Balmer		Mary Macnab
Peter Barton 			Roy Prentice		Ann Wearing
Brian Porter (Treasurer)		Group Organisers		Stephen Riddaway
Howard Huyton			Mr Mistry			Sheila Atkinson
Margaret Lean 			Mr Athma
Sheila Coughlan (Secretary)		Tony Hollister

Back ground

Prostate Cancer is the most common cancer in men and around 330,000 men are living with prostate 
cancer in the UK.  Between 1st April 2015 to 31 March 2016 there were 174 newly diagnosed prostate 
cancer patients in Southport and West Lancashire.

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 all meetings 
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 last 
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 & Royal Preston Urology 
departments and Renacres Hospital.  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, 17th 
March, 30th June & 3rd Nov 2016 to provide information about the group.

We work closely with Prostate Cancer UK and were awarded the Affiliate ‘Level of Engagement’ in July 
2014.

 Who are the group members?

This group is for men with prostate cancer and 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 190+ members (including men, wives, partners and family members) on the database. 
We have had 36 new members join between January and December 2016.

Members of the Urology Team attend each 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 2016             Please see attached list

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 each meeting to ensure appropriate information and 
support is made available.

 Topics covered from Jan 2016 to Dec 2016 have included;

Physical exercise and Cancer – Programmes provided by West Lancs & Sefton Macmillan Physical
Activity teams.

Update on Hormone Treatment and Surgery for Prostate Cancer, radiotherapy scheduled for Feb 2017

Psychological impact of cancer diagnosis.

Alzheimer’s – information regarding services available for people living with dementia and their carers.

"Knowing Me, Knowing You" session which offers a chance for group members to share experiences and 
get to know each other a little better.

Quiz night, Comedian and After Dinner Speakers offer light entertainment.

Midsummer Meal at Ainsdale Southport in August and Christmas Meal at Hurlston Hall December.

 Feedback from Members

Feedback is an ongoing process with members voicing their opinions to committee members and to the 
Urology Team. The vast majority of feedback is positive. An example of negative feedback - one couple 
found a non-Prostate Cancer presentation was not for them. The learning curve here was to always allow 
time at the end of the meeting for members to express any concerns which may sometimes require one to 
one conversation with one of the medical team. 
We have not carried out a formal member satisfaction questionnaire in 2016 but are due to do so in 
March 2017.

 Financial Summary    See attached financial Statement as of 20^th Jan 2017  

We wish to thank those members who have made donations during the past year.  We now have a Standing 
Order proforma should anyone wish to make regular donations.We have made two donations this year, one to 
Prostate Cancer UK in recognition of the invaluable help given by Yvonne Trace for her help with running the 
Support Group, and one to Tackle, the National Federation of Prostate Cancer Support Groups, for helping to 
get our Web Site set up and for hosting the Web Site. A small raffle is organised at each meeting (except 
Christmas get together) 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 fund raising activities. We are 
considering applying for a partnership level of support with Prostate Cancer UK.

 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.

Yvonne Trace (Support Group Development Officer, Prostate Cancer UK) for assisting and supporting the 
development of this group, and also for providing admin support.  Sadly Yvonne no longer works for PCUK and 
has handed over admin duties to Tony Hollister which was a very smooth transaction.

Tony Hollister and Tackle for the launching our website.

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.