The main contribution to this meeting was a visit from Dr. Kathryn Lees, Clinical Oncology Consultant at MTW Trust. She was specifically asked about a new development, where Daralutamide was made available to more people on the NHS as a prostate cancer treatment. She said of it:
- It was less likely to affect cognitive function (‘fuzziness’)
- It had less interactions with other drugs, especially certain blood thinners
- However as a drug, it worked in a similar way to other, existing treatments, and was not necessarily more effective
Dr. Lees talked about BRCA genes, clinical trials, and the importance of fitness in staying well for longer. She advocated checking PSA levels from 45 years onwards, and discussed the pros and cons of screening, which is much in the news. There is a screening trial involving 300K men, of which 10% will be black, black men being twice as likely to get prostate cancer as other groups. Also discussed were any possible family correlations between breast cancers and prostate cancers (again, the BRCA mutation was discussed).
Other topics discussed aside from Dr. Lees were:
- Pure Gym free membership, as advocated by Chris Hoy
- Hermitage Park gym membership (free for one month)
- Fundraising activities – the Coffee Morning raised £450, and the Skydive raised nearly £5,000
- The Christmas lunch at West Malling Golf Club on 20th November, to which all are invited, including partners. The meal itself (except drinks) will be free to all.
- John Penniall’s Christmas Lights, switch-on December 6th
Finally, we would like to draw attention once again to Mike Thompsett’s excellent blog, www.survivethejourney.co.uk, which describes his experiences as a prostate cancer patient.