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.

After being postponed, the first skydivers took to the skies on Sunday 28th September! Natalie, John and Glenn took the plunge (literally) and bailed out at 12,000 feet to land back in Headcorn Aerodrome. Congratulations on a great achievement! They were supported by well-wishers and family, including us.

So far, they have raised a considerable sum, we will let you know in due course what the final total is, but we have one more skydive to come! Graham, Ross and Jason are still to jump on 2nd November.

On an unseasonably cold day, we stayed indoors for our picnic. However while we were there, we met a new couple, Mike and Sandie. Mike has started a blog describing his journey and experiences, and he has shared it with us. Here is the link if you would like to follow Mike’s daily, weekly and monthly updates: https://www.survivethejourney.co.uk

There’s a great blog on there where he has documented their first support group meeting with us last Monday!

In other news, we have heard that Natalie Frenchum’s Wing-Walk raised £1,375 for our charity! See Natalie’s Wing Walk below, for more about this, and a video reel.

Saturday 2nd August 2025

She did it! Check out this video! Natalie Frenchum fulfilled a personal bucket list wish, and we have just heard she has raised an amazing £1,375 for our charity, by doing a Wing Walk at Headcorn Aerodrome on Saturday, August 2nd. She was supported by family, friends, and charity committee members.

It’s not too late to donate to Natalie’s fundraiser. If you still want to do it, click here.

Thank you so much to Natalie for doing this for us, and wearing our T-shirt too!

Monday 30th June 2025

At our Support Group Meeting, we were given a talk by Emily Jenner, the Fraud Prevention Co-ordinator from West Kent Police.

Emily went through several different types of Fraud, what to look out for, and how to spot them. We have attached material provided by her, and a summary of some the points she raised.

In addition, there is a form that she gave us, also attached below, where you can subscribe to the Kent Fraud Alert System (K’FAS)

K’Fas Electronic

She also provided us with The Little Book Of Big Scams, which you can find here:

little_book_of_big_scams_-_5th_edition

Emily discussed with us the importance of the 159 number, where suspicious calls can be reported to the bank.

Preventing fraud 159 – A4