The Founding Fathers

As 2010 came to a close it seemed appropriate to review our achievements and to focus on how we can best advance our aims of support and awareness in 2011.

Firstly we should be aware of the considerable progress that we have made in our inaugural year, as the agenda for our first meeting in January indicates. So as our first year ends we should ‘Rejoice’ in establishing the FOPS awareness and counselling campaigns, not only in Chorleywood but within other organisations such as the North West London Cancer Network, who organised the Commissioning Conference which Jim and Bob attended at the RIBA in London, and Sandy Tyndale –Biscoe’s Prostate Cancer Support Federation who organised the Warwick Prostate Conference, and who encourage the ‘Riskman’ project on prostate cancer testing, which now has NCRI approval and is about to be tested nationwide. This support group, of which we are now members, have also produced a clear and definitive guide for PSA testing which should be part of a basic Health Code that I shall be proposing we develop in 2011.

A considerable vote of thanks to Mr Alvan Pope who enthusiastically presides over the FOPS, guiding us with his sure touch. He invited the FOPS to the October Royal Society of Medicine conference on Prostate Disease, where Mr Julian Shah was a speaker and who accepted our invitation to become the Vice President of the FOPS. It was Alvan who encouraged Lorraine Barton, the Head Cancer Nurse Specialist from Hillingdon Hospital, to join our Council. Already Lorraine has most enthusiastically set about organising the inclusion of information on the FOPS into patient packs – which are given to all new in-patients, which we hope will encourage more prostate sufferers to contact us for support.

We sadly bade our farewells to Dr Nick Foreman but were extremely fortunate to be able to welcome into our Council the enthusiasm and expertise of Triathlon running Dr Caroline Whittaker, who practices as a local GP.

You can get some idea of the strides forward we have and are making by reading the agenda (below) of our inaugural meeting back in January and noting how much we have achieved since then:-

Inaugural Meeting of the Friends of Prostate Sufferers Council at the Bedford Arms, Chenies on Monday 11th January 2010 at 7.00 for 7.30 pm.

Agenda

1) Structure and rules of the Council.
2) Aims of Friends of Prostate Sufferers.
3) Patient Support Group at the Chorleywood Health Centre.
4) Possible association with the Federation of Prostate support groups and The New Prostate Cancer info link social network.
5) Fopsite development
6) Weekend awareness programme in Chorleywood during March.
7) ‘Prostate Preaching’ in St Michaels Chenies on Friday 26th March.
8) Involvement in ‘The Great Drag Race’ on Saturday 19th June 2010
9) ‘Curl the Mo’ for November
10) Any other business.

Council Structure at our first meeting:-

Dr Nick Foreman (Hon. Vice President)

Bob Arthy (Chair) Honorary Councillors
Mr Alvan Pope
David Cottingham Hilary Barrett
Mick Flinn Vartan Melkonian
Trevor Lyon-Smith
Phil Nisbet
Jim Spence
Derek Towner

The only item on the above Agenda not followed through was preaching prostate awareness from the pulpit of St Michaels Church Chenies.

The Chorleywood Health Centre is backing us and we have a FOPS information site in their waiting room.

In the new year we could well introduce ourselves to other local GP practices and encourage them to refer prostate patients to us for the lack of new supplicants has been disappointing.

Not that we haven’t been trying - with articles in local newspapers and magazines, a 250 household drop, local radio interviews, Jim attended and sang at the Great Drag Race, Jim and Bob’s forays to Jazz Clubs, and the shops in Chorleywood last March – all produced not a lot…

But its not all doom and gloom we have plans to use the Memorial Hall both to give a presentation and to mass PSA test using the tried and tested methodology of David Baxter- Smith from the Kidderminster support group who has been group PSA testing nationwide. John Poole, a founder member and presently i/c of advertising for the very active Kidderminster support group has been most kind and helpful in allowing us to use any of their publicity ideas. Derek has been building links between our two groups and has produced an excellent membership form which is based on the design that has gained them over 500 members in the ten years since they started their group. They are very keen to help us further and are talking of ‘participating’ in one of our Council meetings, which would be great, so watch this space.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

One of our biggest successes of 2010 is the creation of our website. David Cottingham organised the web hosting and Derek Towner became our Webmaster and created the FOPS website www.thefops.org.uk that has received many complements worldwide so thank you for all your time and expertise Derek.

Waitrose of Rickmansworth are sponsoring us next through January 2011. Every time you make a purchase you receive a green tag which you should place in the FOPS container. Just make daily purchases is the advice.

Lorraine Barton and Rachel Sharkey are organising a ‘one day event’ in the prostate cancer awareness month of March. The event will be in central London, all cancer support groups will be invited and it should have Macmillan backing. Could be good with speakers and events but Jim and Bob’s singing could make it memorable.

Bob Arthy
Chair