Back ground

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 generally 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 the Urology departments at Southport. Ormskirk, Renacres, Aintree and Royal Liverpool Hospitals and 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 on 14^th March & 12^th Sept 2019 to provide information about the group. This event is for anyone who has been affected by cancer, whether directly or through supporting someone.

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 255+ members (including men, wives, partners and family members) on the database. We have had 17 new members join between January and December 2019, a decrease of 45% on 2018! The average monthly attendance was just over 50, a very slight increase on 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 2019                     

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 2019 to Dec 2019 have included;

PSA : Parkrun Specific Anecdotes – speakers Dr Simon Tobin and Tony Collier BEM

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

Coping with the emotional impact of a cancer diagnosis - speaker Caroline Flynn.

An updated on the work of Prostate Cancer UK – speaker Susan Drew

Robotic Prostatectomy – speaker Mr Vishwanath Hanchanale

Alternative/Homeopathic Medicine – speaker Phil Hughes

The role of PSA in the diagnosis of Prostate Cancer – speaker Mr Samih Taktak

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

A Quiz Night and a couple of Knowing Me, Knowing You meetings, where members are invited to speak about their individual experiences, together with the Midsummer Meal at Southport & Ainsdale Golf Club in July and Christmas Meal at Hurlston Hall in January completed the calendar.

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 2019  

The bank account and petty cash currently stands at £3,978.98. We would like to thank those members who have made donations during the past year. A Standing Order proforma 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, with the exception of June and July when we will have to meet on the SECOND Thursday of the 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 to them.