It’s fair to say receiving a prostate cancer diagnosis, particularly the advanced incurable variety, throws your world into a spin...

In a highly competitive field, one of the more alarming side effects of hormone therapy is a gradual decline in cognitive function. This is not ideal for anyone but is particularly suboptimal for a career writer...

Long-time readers of this column (stretching back, oh, what is it now, three weeks?) may recall that my own cancer self-care mantra is a simple one: Remember to take your M.E.D.S – Meditation, Exercise, Diet, Sleep. And that ticking each of these boxes each day, alongside conventional therapies, helps us withstand the rigours of cancer treatment and enhance quality of life...

In March this year we’ll celebrate the 1^st Anniversary of PCFA’s Specialist Telenursing Service, a vital lifeline that has answered thousands of calls over the past 12 months.

In 2021 the service rapidly responded to lockdowns and treatment delays, and many of you called us for help.  

As the service has grown, we have worked hard to create awareness of the support available, so that Australian men don’t suffer in silence. 

And the good news is, you can call about absolutely anything related to prostate cancer. 

As Bernie Riley, General Manager of PCFA’s Supportive Care Programs, says, “No question is too small and there are no silly questions. We are a committed team of experienced prostate cancer nurses who really just want to help you, no matter what your trouble or situation is.”

Men and women call the service for a range of reasons:

• Information about prostate cancer
• Understanding various treatment options
• Incontinence and urinary issues
• Erectile dysfunction and erectile rehabilitation
• Relationships and sexual issues
• Worry and uncertainty about the future
• Managing side effects
• Referrals to support groups and MatesConnect

In the last year, we’ve had over 1,000 people call through for support, including patients, wives, partners, sons, daughters, friends, family members, and workmates of those impacted.

“Don’t put off calling if you need advice support – no matter what you need it for,” Bernie says.

“One thing people are often hesitant to call about is their mental health, but I encourage you to call – it can make a big difference talking to someone who understands what you’re going through.

“Feeling not quite like yourself, or feeling flat, worried, sad, lost, low or anxious is all very common after a diagnosis so reach out if you need to chat.

“In addition, the nursing team can help you manage other less commonly talked about issues like sleep problems and fatigue, and provide useful information around weight gain and exercise.”

Once you’ve spoken with a telenurse they can link you with a Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurse in your region if you haven’t already been connected, or arrange to give you a follow up call the following week if you’d like one.

Our Telenurses are available Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, with opening hours extended to 8pm AEDT each Wednesday. If you call us outside of these hours, simply leave a message and we’ll return your call.

The number to call is 1800 22 00 99. Remember to let your loved ones know they can call us at any time too.

PCFA Ambassador Ian Mawson shared this blog with us, reflecting on the past 10 years since his prostate cancer diagnosis..

The Australian and New Zealand Urogenital and Prostate (ANZUP) Cancer Trials Group was formed in 2008, and is comprised of a multidisciplinary team of doctors, nurses, allied health care professionals, scientists, researchers, and community representatives, all working in areas related to urogenital cancer. Their aim is to .....

Approximately 25% of Australian prostate cancer patients are diagnosed with low-risk prostate cancer (LRPC): approximately 5500 per year. They may be offered curative treatment options such as a radical prostatectomy (RP), radiotherapy (RT) and brachytherapy (BT), or may be managed with routine monitoring called active surveillance (AS). It is postulated that up to 50% of all prostate cancer cases do not require curative treatment up to 12 years after diagnosis, with evidence suggesting ...

Active surveillance (AS) is an approach that uses a combination of PSA testing, prostate examinations, and prostate biopsies to monitor prostate cancer. Traditionally its has been advocated for those with localised very low risk and low risk stages of disease, but more recently .....

This year’s meeting was held virtually from 8-12th July and in this weeks’ instalment we will highlight three major focus areas presented at the meeting:

• Novel treatment approaches for de novo Metastatic Castrate Sensitive Prostate Cancer (mCSPC)
• Future replacement of MRI by PSMA-PET/CT Scan for prostate cancer diagnosis
• New androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) options.......

Kerry Santoro, Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurse (Southern Adelaide Local Health Network) says that around 200 prostate cancer patients are diagnosed within her local health network each year, and that generally they remain in contact for a period of three years, meaning that at any one time Kerry is managing up to 600 patients on a rolling basis, consulting with .......

Dr Nathalie Bock and her team from the Queensland University of Technology have developed and validated a highly reproducible microtissue-engineered human construct in the lab that comprises osteocytic and osteoblastic cells (the cells responsible for the breakdown and formation of bone), with relevant protein expression and mineral content. The mature mineralized engineered tissue are cultured for up to 12 weeks. They then add metastatic prostate cancer cells to the mineralized microtissue. This model reproduces some of the cellular alterations seen ......

In observing NAIDOC Week, (4-11th July 2021), it seems fitting as a point of departure to acknowledge the impediments Indigenous Australians may encounter in engaging with treatment and receiving optimal health care in general (and cancer care in particular). Some of these factors include: difficulties communicating with health professionals; a lack of patient navigators; lower health literacy; lack of access to support from an Indigenous care provider; logistical barriers; and inadequate linkages with .........

The Effects of Exercise on Depression in Men with Prostate Cancer Undergoing Androgen deprivation th...

There is limited research examining the impact of exercise on psychological distress in men with prostate cancer. Galvão et al¹, from the Exercise Medicine Research Institute at the Edith Cowan University in Perth, focused on this particular issue, with specific reference to men with prostate cancer undergoing ADT.

We would like to introduce Kalli Spencer to everyone! Kalli will be writing weekly updates on the latest in prostate cancer research and treatments, so you’ll be hearing from him regularly.

Kalli is an internationally renowned Urological Surgeon, specialising in oncology and robotic surgery. He trained and worked in South Africa, before relocating to Australia where he has worked at Macquarie University Hospital and Westmead Hospital. His passion for what he does extends beyond the operating room, through public health advocacy, education and community awareness of men’s health, cancer and sexuality. 

Kalli has been involved with the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia for many years, advocating for improved cancer care and facilitating community prostate cancer support groups. Kalli has joined the team and is now helping to deliver evidence-based research blogs for PCFA on a regular basis. PCFA's Research Blog is regularly updated with articles, written in simple language, about recent and topical research in prostate cancer.

We look forward to bringing you more regular news updates soon!

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has just released the latest figures on prostate cancer incidence, mortality, and survival in Australia.

The trends over time are different to the trends we see for many other types of cancer, including a decreasing number of diagnoses since 2009, when cases peaked in Australia. In that year, 22,146 cases were diagnosed, compared to 16,741 cases expected to be diagnosed this year. With an ageing and increasing population, we might ordinarily expect to see the number of men diagnosed increase, but this has not been the case.  

On the 25th of May PCFA hosted its third annual Community Conversations. This year we partnered with the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, a world-leading cancer treatment centre and research institute, who hosted the day in Melbourne, Victoria. Community Conversations, facilitated by MC Julie McCrossin, brought together prostate cancer patients and their families with leading scientists, clinicians and health professionals. The forum promotes a conversation about prostate cancer between all these people, so that we can learn from each other.