My name is John and I am the group founder. I was diagnosed in September of 2022 and had a Radical Prostatectamy at the end of October. It all seemed to happen so fast. The specialist nurse I was dealing with suggested I joined a support group but there was nothing in this area. Nearest groups were in Weymouth and Bournemouth which was kind of disappointing. So now it is sorted and we have at last had our first meeting and talked about everything from pee to pumps. These are things that you might have started discussing with your urology department following your diagnosis. As the title suggests, we laughed a fair deal and the atmosphere was very relaxed. Completely unsure of how it was going to go, I am pleased to say I think it went well. Even early on, some of the comments after the meeting suggest members are 'looking forward to the next meeting'.
We are supported by Tackle Prostate Cancer who are offering to cover some of the costs of holding meetings in a venue and refreshments etc. These things need funds of course. This has meant that we need to open a bank account and this in turn means I have had to start working on a constitution and ask for someone other than me to be a treasurer. One of the guys has volunteered for this, so now I just need to approach our local Lloyds branch and we can accept funding. We can be found on the Macmillan website on the 'in your area' page so if anyone goes via that route and is looking for the local group, we will pop up. We are registered on the Tackle national register and officially became the 100th group.
I have been in contact with The Urology Department at Salisbury Hospital via a Specialist Nurse regarding the group and she is pleased to act as our contact. Flyers have been sent to the local NHS surgeries in Sherbourne, Shaftesbury and Gillingham and in turn with the Social Prescribers from those surgeries. This meant that men who had been diagnosed got a surprise text to let them know about the first meeting. I cannot deny, that was kind of a thrill getting the notification on my own phone. We have a Facebook page for those who have it and this is can be found by clicking the Facebook icon near the top of the home page. You can also find it bt opening groups on your Facebook account and searching for North Dorset Prostate Cancer Support Group or click on here North Dorset Prostate Cancer Support Group | Facebook.
I hope that I will be able to keep the group, and those hoping to join the group, updated via this blog. The group email address is northdorsetpcs@gmail.com so please make contact if you would like to attend the group.
30/04/23 - John