On 23rd February, we received a comprehensive talk and presentation on the many and varied benefits that are available, from PIP, Attendance Allowance, Pension Credit, Blue Badge, care costs and many other categories. This was given by Sandra Cayzer, Welfare Officer at the Heart of Kent Hospice. She gave us a truly comprehensive overview.

As well as this, the committee gave a presentation on what we had achieved as a charity, and what we hoped to achieve in the future. Click on the link below to see the full presentation.

Welfare Benefits Session

More news! Our Charity has paid for a Christmas Tree and decorations for the Oncology Reception in Maidstone Hospital’s Oncology Reception. This will be retained each year, and if you look closely, you will see our logo on the right, on the wall. Merry Christmas, everyone!

John and Sue’s Xmas lights have been switched on to raise funds for our charity. They will be on until 31st December, so do go along and knock for snow! The address is 5 Mamignot Close, Bearsted ME14 4PT.

If you would like to give directly, the link to our JustGiving page is here:

Just Giving Xmas Lights

Our Christmas Dinner at West Malling Golf Club was very well attended. Thanks to all who came!

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.