Our Support - What we do
Being diagnosed with prostate cancer is a big shock. You may have lots of questions, but you do not need to be alone in finding answers.
Our Group of over 50 men, plus their wives and partners, have all been in the same situation. Most are now leading very fulfilling lives after treatment.
Our primary purpose is to give men the opportunity to share their experiences of diagnosis, treatment and its side-effects in a safe, confidential environment. Small (4-8) group discussions with men who have had the same treatment, help our new members come to terms with their diagnosis.
No man’s experience is the same. Different types of treatment may result in different short or longer-term side effects. You will find someone to talk to who can understand and relate to how you are feeling.
Group members do not give medical advice, but a specialist cancer nurse comes to most meetings and is available for one to one discussion.
Wives and partners are a vital part of our Group. We sometimes encourage separate “ladies only” discussions so that they can share experiences from their perspective.
We have teamed up with Basingstoke Sports Centre, who run a weekly exercise class just for our members, closely supervised by a fully qualified instructor. The class is very popular. Members can attend as an observer before taking the plunge and signing-up.
As well as a Christmas lunch, we have an expanding range of social activities: a monthly fun afternoon at a local pub including playing skittles and also evening events – see our Social Events tab.
We draw attention to the work of the Group and increase local awareness of prostate cancer by running public events. Members man an information point, hand out leaflets and answer general questions, whilst making it clear that they are not giving medical advice. See tab for our awareness events programme.
Membership of the Group is free apart from the exercise class and social activities. We try to be self-supporting through raffles and other donations.
We are a partner organisation of Prostate Cancer UK and some of our Committee Members have attended their support group training days. We are also affiliated to Macmillan Cancer Support and Tackle.
There is no obligation to take part in any Group event – you can just come along and benefit from hearing about others’ experiences. You may like to join in only with our social activities or exercise classes. The choice is yours.