Welcome to Prospect - a support group for prostate cancer patients, their wives, partners and carers.
Prospect is run by prostate cancer survivors for the benefit of the communities in Bristol and surrounding districts

  • Meetings/speakers

    ♦ First Thursday of month (10am-noon) coffee mornings held at the Penny Brohn Centre, Chapel Pill Lane, Pill, Bristol BS20 0HH. After some ‘hicoughs’ we have booked until 2027.

    ♦ Third Tuesday of month (2-4pm) meetings at the Macmillan Wellbeing Centre, Southmead Hospital.

    ♦ Friends and family welcome at all our meetings.

    Prospect runs an Active Surveillance group at the Macmillan Wellbeing Hub at the new Dyson Cancer Centre at the Royal United Hospital in Bath. It meets on the last Tuesday of the month.  Leaflet here

    The next members’ meeting at BAWA will be an informal one on March 10  (7pm). Members are urged to suggest possible organisations where we can try to ‘push’ PSA tests and attract more members. Need a lift to an event? We arrange pick-up points close to a bus stop near you. Email details to prospect.bristol@gmail.com a few days in advance. Lifts will usually be timed to arrive at Penny Brohn at 10am unless the driver agrees to another time. Want details of our group? Email prospect.bristol@gmail.com with your postal address and we will send you an information pack.

  • Longer waits

    West patients facing long waits for prostate ops. See

  • New test hailed

    A new test that can detect PCa before symptoms appear has been hailed by scientists. More

  • Vaccine hope

    Southampton scientists are working on a ‘breakthrough’ cancer vaccine. See here

  • Stop a comeback

    Research into stopping a comeback of cancer. See here

  • Spit test ‘better’

    A spit test taken at home is better than a blood one, say researchers. See here

  • Personalised vaccines

    Thousands to trial personalised cancer vaccines but no mention of PCa. See here

  • New hope for advanced patients

    The first patients have been enrolled to take part in a trial of a radioactive isotope used as a treatment for metastatic PCa. This first worldwide trial introduces a promising new therapy for patients who have exhausted all other options in their treatment. More here

  • Delay ‘OK’ and a West first

    Delaying treatment for localised PCa does not increase mortality risk, Bristol trial shows. More here And two Somerset hospitals are using artificial intelligence (AI) to help speed up diagnosing PCa. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust said it is the first in the UK to introduce its AI tool, called Pi, to work alongside its team of radiologists. More here

  • Radiotherapy talk

    The talk by Zoe Walker is available here

  • Myths debunked

    David James, a director at Prostate Cancer Research, addresses some of the biggest myths about PCa and uncovers the reality behind them. More here

  • Radiotherapy talk

    The recent talk by Zoe Walker on radiotherapy is available here

  • PCa ‘the worst’

    Prostate cancer is now the most commonly diagnosed in England, surpassing breast cancer for two consecutive years, according to analysis by a Prostate Cancer UK. More here

  • Scanner treats PCa

    A Coventry hospital claims it is the first in the world to expand the use of a new scanner for cancer patients to people who have the disease in their head and neck. University Hospital Coventry is undertaking a trial using a machine known as Aura-10 and it is also the first UK centre to use the machine to treat PCa. More here

  • New treatment

    A pioneering new treatment promises to tackle a wider range of cancers, with fewer side-effects than conventional radiotherapy. It also takes less than a second. See here

  • Prospect’s future discussed

    Prospect’s future strategies were discussed on November 14 by committee members, together with those providing advice for the Active Surveillance Group in Bath and for patients at the Oncology Departments in Bristol. More on this on the News page.

  • Spring walk moved

    As the leader will be away, the walk has been moved from to April 11th to 4th. More later.

  • Ultrasound praised

    A Glos man who was diagnosed with cancer twice in just over a year has praised a new non-invasive ultrasound treatment which saved him after enduring the “hell” of chemotherapy. Stuart Emerson, 60, is advocating for early detection and HIFU rollouts, hoping to spare others from invasive treatments and long recovery periods. More here

     

     

     

  • Cases rise

    A new report shows there was an increase in new PCa cases in 2023 in England (9% more compared with 2022 and 25% more compared with 2019). And in 2022 in Wales (26% more in 2022
    compared with 2021). More here

We are a friendly and supportive network that meets at BAWA, Filton (directions below). Meeting details are in the column on the left. You can contact us via the Contact/Join us link above. We also give prostate cancer awareness talks to interested groups, including those with learning disabilities. To arrange a talk, contact prospect.bristol@gmail.com

Officers and committee update

Tim Bond, below left, was re-elected chairman of Prospect at the 2024 AGM. Martin Webb, below right, was also re-elected secretary. Andy Mullett (second row. left) took over from Paul Williams as Prospect’s treasurer. Other committee members, including Jeff Allen, second row below right, were re-elected. Richard Miles and Mike James were elected to take our new committee up to 12 members and are pictured in the bottom line below, Richard on the right.

 

Just diagnosed? Our group aims to:

We’ve found knowledge is of great benefit to the patient. It enables him to play an active part in the decision-making process, for example in selecting the best treatment See more here and here. Know the risk factors of PCa.  See here

This site has been compiled by PCa survivors. We don’t claim to have specialist knowledge other than that gained by PCa patients during their treatment.

We offer a friendly welcome – join us

Are you just diagnosed, or do you suspect that you may have prostate cancer? Then for friendly peer support and an introduction to Prospect email prospect.bristol@gmail.com  You can join us via the Contact/Join us link above or by filling in the PDF membership form here

The Prospect members’ 2024 walk around Ashton Court

Having the conversation…

“Manversation” is a campaign to encourage men to speak about prostate cancer, particularly the advanced prostate form. Tackle have collaborated with Orchid, the male cancer charity, and put their name to a video and supporting material on the Manversation website.

Myths debunked and spotting fake cancer news

Cancer myths debunked. See here, also here. And here are tips about cancer myths around food. Also here is a link to info on the causes of cancer

New information for at-risk Black men

One in four black men will get prostate cancer – double the overall risk faced by all UK men. Are you are risk? See here And reducing barriers to screening in Black men with PCa – See more here And genetics might explain black men’s higher risk. See here

And a team at UCL London is seeking to understand the unique experiences of Black men with PCa care in the UK. It wants to uncover the reasons behind healthcare inequalities and developing targeted support to improve outcomes. See flyer or this website. And an NHS 10-part series aims to support Black communities to have open conversations about the risk of Black men developing PCa and the importance of getting tested.  See here on YouTube 

Tiger or pussycat? New test found

It’s a big problem to tell the difference between slow-growing cancers and aggressive ones. Now a test that spots dangerous PCa tumours has been developed (Oct ’22). More here

Cancer ‘as unique as fingerprints’

Each person’s cancer is as unique as their fingerprints, said Professor Gillies McKenna, Director of the CRUK/MCR Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology. This created an opportunity for more precise treatment.

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  • Know your risk

    Prostate Cancer UK has a new infographic and booklets.

    Exchange information

    www.myprostate.eu is now also available in English and prostate cancer patients can exchange information and help each other with treatment decisions.

  • Help with treatment choices

    Get enhanced guidance on treatment options, thanks to a checklist developed by researchers (Jun ’17). See. More help here. And why it’s difficult to choose among treatment options (Jul ’17). See. Men with early stage prostate cancer wishing to preserve sexual function while on treatment do not always make the right choices. See

  • Buddies home support update

    This Macmillan service offered support for adult cancer patients in our areas and they have been working on re-starting  face-to-face visits again. The Bristol Buddies service has moved to its national telephone service. Ring 07543 248714 or see this site for support.