NV men behind
prostate cancer
awareness push

By Robert Galster
. News Reporter

_ JACK Carlisle takes good
care of himself, but that

didn’t stop prostate cancer
from striking the Deep Cove
resident.

Life’s not always fair.

4. He is also in the habit of getting an
“annual checkup from his doctor, Rut
- that didn’t help detect his condition
until it was quite advanced.

~ It should have.

‘Tt didn’t because unfortunately for
Carlisle and thousands of other men
worldwide, carly’ detection methods
aré. not perfecc. Maybe they should
be, Carliste, 57, had surgery in 1995.
But that’s just part of the story. For
eight- months leading up to it, he -
underwent eight months of hormon-
al treatment -and spent the aftermath
undergoing radiation’ treatments.
Reduced libido, hot flashes and weak-
éned-muscles were all symptoms he
encountered, but, for HOW, it’s all
behind him. :

-“T was diagnosed at age 55 and J
was.in very good health ... it came to
mec as quite a shock,” said Carlisle. “It -
‘ook me’a little while to, accept that I
had it”. His experience Jed him to
more community, -involyement : and
the: support. group he now attends
regularly. The group meets at Lions”
Gate Hospital, but Carlisle warns it’s

t what people may expect.

“It’s certainly not a meeting where

ryone’s on their shoulders crying. .

What we re trying’co do is raise awareness of.

prostate cancer,” said Carlisle, “Many people don’t
even know what the prostate is. I didn’t even know
hat it was, As soon as I found out they took it our
Enever met the bugger.”.
The key to treating prostate cancer, like many of
the other types of cancer, is early detection,
‘However, a rectal exam wus not necessarily locate
the psig that’s due to a lack of expe-,
eiph

aser solution promised for
ions set Hospital soon

By Robert Gaister

At 79, the West Vancouver resident has wide- ranging concerns and also a.
heart. He beldngs to the Holiyburn Gyro Club and, on occasion, con-
Butes to a ‘cause presented to the friendship club's members:
The particular i instance that seems to have gotten his goat, involves Lions
Gate Hospital’ $ apparent need of a laser that in some instances can replace

surgery.

: The device’ s main use will be to. case the flow of urine through the ure-
ra as it passes: through the prostate. To date, an enlarged prostate frustrat-
urine flow is treated with surgery, The laser is cot only more -comfort-

able, but also more cost-effective.

According to White, a urologist and club member presented the hospi-

an’s s-part or a well concealed

NEWS photo | Mike Wakofloid
DEEP Cove! 's Jack Carlisle, a prostate cancer survivor.

cancer as was the case with Carlisle, a more effective,

-but by no means perfect way, of finding prostate

cancer is available. It’s called a Prostatic Specific
Antigen (PSA) test. The problens is that BC Medical
won't cover it unless a doctor recommends it based
on the results of a physical exam. That’s because
PSA tests tend to be rite with falsely positive results,

“They” re (BC Medical) reluctant. to mass’

screen,” said Carlisle adding thar he “ ‘can appreciate
what they’re saying in terms of costs.”

of clients from us,

Gate

Friday, September 20, 1996 — North Shore News - 3

Considering prostate cancer’s
mortality rates, arguments for
increased funding are easily substanti-
ated. Cariadian Cancer Society. esti-
mates for 1996 show B.C.’s incidence
rate at 177. cases per 100,000. The
death rate in B.C. is estimated to be
30 per 100,000.

While the statistics may mean litle
on their own, they stand out more
when compared with the estimated
rates of incidence and death of breast
cancer in B.C: 121 per 100,000 and
25 per 100,000 respectively. Ribbon
campaigns associated with the promo-
tion of October as breast cancer
awareness month are visible and need
no introduction.

On the other hand, September
happens to be prostate cancer aware-
ness month — to nearly everyone’s
surprise. Even more light can be shed
on the disease’s unfortunate under-
ground status when a comparison of
the funding allotted specifically to
prostate cancer versus breast cancer in
Canada is taken into consideration.

While breast cancer research
sucked up a whopping $2,000,000 in
1995, the prostate cancer research
funding totalled a comparatively pal-
try $612,000.

Canadian Cancer Sacicty’s Barbara
Kaminsky, Chief Execu‘ive Officer of
the B.C. and Yukon division, said the
disparity berveen the two is largely
the product of publicity.

“About five years ago there was a
lot of lobbying by women worried by
the lack of research (of breast cancer

” said Kaminsky. Adding

specifically),
hat “we now have a groundswell of

concern among men,” Kaminsky said
prostate cancer is due to receive simi-
lar attention. ;
“The conventional thinking was
- thar men would not go'to support
groups ... wouldn't share their feel-
ings,” said Kaminsky. “That’s proven to be false.
“It took women about five years — how long
does it take for men to do what women have done?
If we go on history, it'll be about five years.”
Jack Carlisle’s support group backs up her evalu-
ation of current trends. When Catlste first. got
invelved two years ago, only a handful of men reg-

‘ularly showed up. Today, 30 to 35 people can be

counted on to make an appearance.
Within five long years...

“We're a bunch of old buggers in our club so he (the urologist) gets a lot
” said White.

The funds raised at theclub and elsewhere were collected by the Lions
Hospital Foundation‘and met the target of $350,000 last February.
But to date there’s still no laser at Lions Gate Hospital.
“The money’s sitting in trust unless the government stole it,

* surmised

White. He said that he got the run-around trom hospital staff whenever he

inquired about the laser.

Stew Madill, vice-president of medicine at LGH, tried to put White's con-
cerns at ease, Madill said the delay is duc to hospital staff needing to evalu-
ate the available technology.

“The whole business has really come to the fore in the last 18 months,”
said Madill. “The initial findings on the (laser) technology were it wasn't
much better than the old method (surgery).” ;

But, he added that has changed and the evaluation stage is now complete.

“We have sent the purchase order to the company, "said Maditl. “1 would

expect we would have it within nvo to four wee

He admitted that there has been some keen interest from the public on
the machine’s whereabouts, but said the delay was necessary.

For his: part, Jim White still possesses a fine sense of urgency.

“When you're peeing five times a night when, you're 79-years- -old,
time to get the laser,” said White.

rostate
cancer facts,
statistics:

& Prostate cancer attacks the
chestnut-sized prostate gland, an
organ below the bladder thar pro-

duces the fluid portion of semen;
Iris the most frequently diag-

nosed cancer in Canadian men,
and, after lung cancer, the leading
cause of male cancer deaths. An
estimated 18,200 men in Canada
will be diagnosed with the disease
during 1996, and about 4,000
will die from it. The incidence in
Canada has inereased at an annual
rate of 3.1% since 1983;
@ In B.C., an estimated 3,500
men will be diagnosed with the
disease during 1996, and about
570 are expected to ‘die trom it.
The incidence in B.C., 166 per.
100,000 in 1995, is the highest of
any province in Canada,
Specialists aren’t sure why.
Research indicates that men with
a family history of the disease and:
men with a high consumption of
dietary fat are especially at risk,
Wi if you are over 50, or over 40
with a family history of prostate
cancer, you should have an annual
Digital Rectal Examination
(DRE) as part of your regular ;
physical checkup. If any irregulari-
ties are indicated, you should have *
a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA).” °
blood test or biopsy (tissue s sam-
ple) from the area;
Bi It can take up to 15 years from
the time a small tumor shows in
the prostate until it reaches seri-
ous proportions. Only 60% of
cases are detected when the can-
cer is confined to the prostrate.
The disease becomes much more
dangerous if it spreads to the
nearby lymph nodes and other,
parts of the body; © | :
© Painful urinanion or ejaculation,”
blood in the urine; or pain ‘in the™
lower back area are all symptoms,
that may indicate prostate cancer.
But they may be indicative of |‘
some other ailment. Also, men.
can have prostate cancer for years
without apparent symptoms; 7 -:
Wi Treatments depend on the ge '
and health of the patient, the’:
stage of the cancer and its speed
of growth. Options range: from
checking and monitoring’in early
stages, through :adiation therapy;
to surgery to remove the prostate. ,
Hormone therapy, which reduces
testosterone levels and slows the
c¢ancer’s growth, is also used,
sometimes for several months _
before surgery; ’
B New surgery techniques have e
- largely eliminated thé side- effect’ /
of incontinence (loss of uriiary;
control) associated with removal
of the prostate, but many men ,
who have the operation still ¢xpe-
fence varying degrees of impo- .
tence. Hormone therapy, which
reduces testosterone levels! often
causes impotence while itis being
administered; f
i Most men treated for prostate
cancer can resume active work
and family lives.

—- Supplied by ihe Canadian

: ‘tal’s een to the other members last year.

News launches new weekly guide

CL 7|
z North Shore Atert

THIS Week marks a new era for the
News and its readers.

The newspaper’s new pull-out section (starting
‘on page 21) will be your new guide to what's going
on around the North Shore every
week.

It is your answer to that eternal

uestion: “What are;we going to
do today/tonight/tomorrow/
right now?”

Appearing in each edition of Friday’ s News,
North Shore This Week will feature a week’s worth
of in-depth television listings — just pull it out of.

"the paper and slap it down on the coffee cable fora

weck’s worth of hassle-free television viewing.

He hopes to be resting a lor easier soon.

In addition, the News reporting te: am will con-
neet with the people that make the North Shore tick
to feature lists compiled to inform you, amuse you
and sometimes confound you. :

In today’s North Shore This Week vou'll find a

number of lists, including the top seven hot fishing
holes, the top 25 CDs North Shore music listeners
are buying, and a list supplied by the North Van
RCMP ranking the top 10 excuses people give for
speeding.

Cancer Society

(And you thought you were being original.)

As always, we encourage North Shore News
readers to contribute to the paper's content, so send
in your own lists to North Shore This Week. Just fax
them t to 985-2104, c/o North Shore This Weck.

Or drop ‘them off at our North —
Vancouver office at 1139 Lonsdale
Avenue.
The only change } North Shore. ,
This Week will‘bring to your three
News editions that TV listings will no,
longer appear in the Sunday or Wednesday issues.

In the meantime This Week staff will be working
on the answers to a few other eternal questions.

When we have the answers you'll be the first to
know. We'll keep you posted, “oe