Nepean / Blue Mountains Prostate

Cancer Support Group Meeting

MONDAY, 17th February 2024

The meeting is open to all men and partners/family who may be experiencing prostate problems or just wish to become more aware of this disease.  Newcomers will be made most welcome.

As usual at all our group meetings, partners are not only welcome but are encouraged to attend.

For further information www.prostatsupport.org.au or phone the Group President David Wilkinson on 1300 13 38 78.

New comers will be made most welcome.

As usual at all of our Group Meetings, partners are not only welcome but are encouraged to attend.

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“YOU ARE NOT ALONE”.

NEPEAN/BLUE MOUNTAINS PROSTATE CANCER SUPPORT GROUP INC

PRESIDENT’S REPORT TO THE 2024 AGM

Greetings members and wider network.

With another year passing I have pleasure in presenting this report, my eleventh as President, to the 2024 AGM.  

My thanks to Leonay Golf Club (formerly Emu Sports Club) who again allowed us the use of the room that we are in free of charge.  Members are very happy with this location as they can enjoy a bistro meal and a drink before and/or during the meeting. Leonay Club Membership is only $6 per annum and discounts on meals and drinks more than cover that cost. As well, during your birthday month you can swipe your card and receive vouchers for a ½ price meal and a free drink!

In 2023 the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA) with whom we are affiliated, introduced Community Grants of up to $5,000 for use within Support Groups.  PCFA allocated $50,000 for these grants.

Your Board put together what we thought was a very strong submission but we were not successful with the majority of funds going to Regional Support Groups.  This was a position with which I agreed as many groups do not have the numbers or resources available to us.

To its credit, although not successful with the grant, PCFA offered to fund the supper after our awareness night and that was greatly appreciated.

However, if at first you don’t succeed ……..well, apply again.  This year I am pleased to say that we were successful in obtaining a grant to the value of $5,000.

This grant has enabled us to have paid advertising for our awareness night with the grant meeting all costs for the night.  As well we are able to replace two banners and have prepaid advertising for February next year when our first 2025 monthly meeting will be held.

Although we are a not for profit organisation we need some finances to operate. The major fundraiser that we organise is the Bunnings Sausage Sizzle and it was very pleasing to see it go ahead this year after the disappointment in 2023 of having to cancel as we could not get sufficient numbers to assist on the day. Some $2,000 was raised this year at that Sausage Sizzle.

Our other fundraiser, is the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic for which our Group has acted as scrutineers for many years and saw us receive a small donation of $500 this year due to the small numbers of canoes, kayaks, paddle boards etc competing.

Due to a lack of interest the organisers had to substantially cut their entry costs and donation requirements to hold the event at all .  Our Group had advised the organisers that we would help them by participating with no expectation of donation and the organisers appreciated that gesture.

However, HCC saw fit to donate $500 in appreciation.

When our Group started participating in this event there were over 400 light boat entries and this year they struggled to get 100. My thanks to our members who volunteered on that day and to HCC for inviting our Group to scrutineer once again

Leonay Golf Club held a Charity Golf day for us in February and with this day as well as a raffle that we ran, with all prizes donated by, or through, Leonay Golf Club raised over $2,000 for our Group.  Again a small band of volunteers helped out on that day and I thank them very much for their efforts,

Emu Plains Lions Club has continued its sponsorship of our website and we are very grateful to them for that.

Highlights of the year were many with the winning of the PCFA Community Grant a major highlight.  As usual there were an amazing selection of speakers who presented during the year. 

These included Liz our former Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurse, Kylie a pelvic floor physiotherapist, Steve, a non member who presented on his prostate cancer journey, Andrew who spoke about Penrith Walk and Talk, Caroline and the late David Seagar who presented on palliative care and its support services and Roneen a psychologist.

As well in July we held our first morning tea meeting and welcomed Anne Savage CEO PCFA and Bernie Riley PCFA’s Head of Telenursing and Supportive Care Programs.  It was a real highlight to have Anne and Bernie address us and PCFA picked up the costs of the morning tea.

Our Premier annual meeting is held in September, Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, and we welcomed 4 clinicians to our prostate cancer awareness night, who presented and answered questions during supper.

The Meeting was well attended and finger food, tea and coffee, sponsored by the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia was enjoyed after the meeting.

In March we farewelled Liz as our local Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurse and welcomed Jose who has now been permanently appointed to the role and we congratulate both Liz and Jose on their new appointments.

We also held some open forums, including one where the ladies and men held separate forums and those new persons or visitors attending get optimism from the experiences of other members particularly survivors of many years.  Thanks to my wife Jan for leading the ladies forum.

Just a note to new members – if you found our Group meeting gave you some comfort, your story will be of great comfort to newly diagnosed men and their partners who would love to listen to your stories of recent treatment. Please continue to attend our support group meetings when you can.

For the first time in many years our Group was not represented at Relay for Life as the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic was held on the same day.  However, we had a small team in PCFA’s Long Run and although support was very minimal from members and network, we managed to raise some money that PCFA would not otherwise have had. 

During this year the Group also represented itself or PCFA at Leonay Golf Club Charity day, the Shannons Sydney Classic, Clarendon Classic Machine Truck Toy and Hobby Show, Sydney German Autofest (over 600 German cars on display), Bunnings Sausage Sizzle on the Saturday before Father’s Day and the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic.

I know that I repeat this each year, but I believe that it is important to understand that although we have a number of new members join each year, and it is important for any group to have new members, our membership grows through reluctant membership as all, or most of the men here, have been diagnosed with prostate cancer. We are the reluctant brotherhood. I trust that all men and their partners visiting us for the first time have found us welcoming and are encouraged by knowing that they are not alone.  We hope to see you back at our monthly meetings as often as you can make it.

My thanks to each of my six colleagues on the Board who have worked selflessly for the betterment of our Support Group. My thanks to them for also for putting their hands up to serve in 2025. 

A quorum at our Board Meetings is five and these are held at 4 30pm on our Group meeting night.

During 2024 I travelled extensively and missed a number of meetings and I thank Vice President Graeme for chairing during my absences.  I also Thank Alan for Chairing when both Graeme and I were travelling.

The Board looks after awareness, publicity, money matters, library, newsletters website, Facebook etc and certainly make our Support Group what it is.  Their enthusiasm and humour for its continuing success together with respectful attitudes at all meetings have made them a pleasure to chair.

I encourage all members to consider nominating for the Board as our Board Meetings are now held, as mentioned before, prior to the Monthly Group Meeting and last less than an hour. New nominations are welcome as new faces bring new ideas.

I must also acknowledge my wife Jan who has assisted me tremendously in the background and I thank her for that. I also acknowledge and thank all the Board’s wives for their support of our Group. Without our ladies and those of our member survivors the Group would be a much lesser entity.

 In conclusion, I again look forward to continuing our post covid revitalisation of our Support Group through the continuation of face-to-face meetings over the next 12 months. 

With my best wishes for a Merry Christmas, Happy, Prosperous but most importantly a healthy New Year and a reminder of our motto “YOU ARE NOT ALONE”

David Wilkinson 

PRESIDENT 

NEPEAN/BLUE MOUNTAINS PROSTATE CANCER SUPPORT GROUP INC

16 December 2024

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