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Meeting addresses prostate cancer

Provided by: Sun Media
Written by: DAVE DORMER
Aug. 3, 2008

Prostate cancer support group leaders from across the country are converging in Calgary for the next three days to talk about the search for a cure to the deadly disease and how to better inform men about the need to get tested.

Prostate cancer is the third-leading cause of death among Canadian men and one of the most diagnosed forms of cancer. Prostaid Calgary president Bob Shiell said education and early detection are the best known defences against the disease.

"I think attitudes are definitely changing," he said.

"For one thing, more and more men are talking about it. It's to the point now where most men I speak to who are in their 50s and 60s have had at least one PSA test," he said, referring to a prostate-specific antigen test, which detects traces of the disease in the blood stream.

"Before, many had not and didn't even know what it was."

This year's conference theme is Staying Alive, coinciding with a multi media campaign, launched by the Calgary group, that Shiell said has been wildly successful.

"We have a website and since the campaign started our hits have gone way up," he said.

"It's an indication people are getting the message that men should get a benchmark PSA test at age 40."

Being hosted at the Fairmont Palliser, the fifth annual Canadian Prostate Cancer Network Conference begins at 7 p.m. today with a keynote address from Health Minister Ron Liepert and wraps up on Tuesday with a session led by oncologist Dr. Stephen Strum.

For more information, visit www.prostaid.org.

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