Support Group Meetings

The group holds monthly support meetings for members. Currently these are both face-to-face for those able to attend in person, and on Zoom for anyone who finds that easier.

• Peer to peer support, where members can share experiences. This can be very useful for a recently diagnosed member to talk with someone who is further down the path, and for discussing side effects and coping strategies.
• Clinician support, when clinicians are available.
• Relevant presentations, by clinicians, researchers, patients, and other support organisations.

One-to-one support

One-to-one support is available when a member needs it, outside of support group meetings. One-to-one support is also available to partners and carers.

This can be particularly important when a member is going through and receiving their diagnosis, and when choosing treatments. We've been through this ourselves, and we know what an anxious time it can be. We can't advise a patient which treatment to take, but we can try and make sure they have the relevant information, and suggest things to consider, as well as finding members who took specific treatment options to have a talk too.

Prostate cancer is very much a couple's disease - the impact on your partner is very significant too, sometimes more so than on the patient. If you want to have a support session as a couple or even just the partner, that's fine too. We can also talk with other adult family members supporting the patient.

Friendship

Many members find they easily make new friends with other members. All members share one thing in common, and this can make it easier to become good friends. We do not find it awkward to talk with each other, as some of your existing friends can when you get a cancer diagnosis, because they're worried they might say the wrong thing.

Men are renowned for their difficulty talking about certain very personal issues, but a shared experience of prostate cancer often breaks down this barrier, making it much easier to talk about personal concerns in a safe space with other men with exactly the same issues. However, you can take things at your own pace, and stay within your comfort zone at all times - we all understand that, because we've all been where you are now.

Awareness

The group organises awareness activities, with the aim of raising prostate cancer awareness in the public so that men with prostate cancer are detected sooner with earlier stage disease, which in turn results in better outcomes. We have a public Facebook page which is used to raise awareness of prostate cancer, and awareness of our support group.

Exercise

Exercise is very important for prostate cancer patients. We are linked up with online exercise classes for cancer patients. There is a charge for this service.