Active Surveillance Patients International is holding a webinar on exercise and how it helps patients with prostate cancer. The free program, “How Can Exercise Help Prostate Cancer Patients Like Me?”, will be held from noon to 1:30 pm Eastern Saturday, April 27, 2024.  Register Here

The program includes the premiere of the latest in the Active Surveillance (AS) 101 video series, featuring a real couple, Nancy and Larry White, interviewing an exercise expert, Kerry Courneya, PhD, whose research has proven the benefit of exercise in slowing low-grade prostate cancer.

Dr. Courneya will be available to answer questions following the video.

Dr. Courneya said his research has shown “exercise is the single most important thing” a cancer patient can do—even more important than diet”. His research has shown patients with prostate cancer (low-risk to high-risk), lymphatic cancer, and other cancers benefit from exercise. His study in JAMA Oncology, showed for the first time that High Impact Intensity Training–bursts of exercise rather than a continuous approach—can help suppress the growth of prostate cancer cells in men on active surveillance( https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/fullarticle/2783273 )

King Charles III’s recent treatment for BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia), or an enlarged prostate, has put a spotlight on this common problem in men as they age. (By age 60, half of men will have signs of BPH. By age 85, 90% will have symptoms of the condition.)

Active Surveillance Patients International’s March 23 webinar is entitled “The ABCs of BPH,” will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. Eastern.

You can use this link to register: Register Here

The program will feature a video by Dr. Casey Dauw, “BPH Treatments: HOLEP, PAE, Surgical TURPS & More” produced by the Prostate Cancer Research Institute. ASPI board members will share their personal experiences with BPH followed by audience discussion.

AI, short for artificial intelligence, is in the headlines increasingly. Medical care is expected to receive the biggest benefits in the field, including prostate cancer.

Please join Active Surveillance Patients International on Feb. 24 at noon-1:30 p.m. Eastern to hear a panel talk about AI and how it will be affecting our lives as prostate cancer patients in a program entitled “How AI will decrease over diagnosis and over treatment of prostate cancer.”

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Our panel includes:

—Niels Olson, MD, is a board-certified pathologist and the Chief Medical Officer at the Defense Innovation Unit in Mountain View, California. In this role, he oversees research programs in machine learning/AI for a broad spectrum of anatomic pathology applications, augmented reality microscopy, and artificial intelligence applications in radiology.

—Daniel Spratt, MD, Chair of radiation oncology at University Hospitals in Cleveland, who ordered Artera for Bruno. He says two-thirds of men making the transition to radiation can now avoid ADT and its serious side effects.

—Tim Showalter, MD, MPH, is Chief Medical Officer at ArteraAI. He is a radiation oncologist and cancer researcher and a clinical professor at the University of Virginia. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently set reimbursement rates for Artera AI.

—Bruno Barrey, a robotics engineer from suburban Detroit, who was able to avoid Androgen Deprivation Therapy because of an analysis by Artera AI as he transitioned from Active Surveillance to radiation treatment.

——Kirk Wojno, MD, a board-certified anatomic and clinical pathologist who trained at The Johns Hopkins, is Chief Medical Officer of Immunis.AI in the Detroit area. The company is using AI to develop a test to help newly diagnosed patients decide whether to go on active surveillance or active treatment.

JOIN US ON SATURDAY, JANUARY 27th 12:00PM ET for our program about medical grade, genetic testing for prostate cancer and how biomarker testing is important in determining and tracking a man’s diagnosis with this cancer.

Nearly 300,000 men in the United States alone will receive a prostate cancer diagnosis, with thousands more cases anticipated in Europe, India, and Canada. It is crucial for men to be informed about prostate cancer (PCa) awareness and initiating a testing protocol with their primary care physician and other healthcare providers. Monitoring and testing for PCa can begin as early as the age of 40 for African American men and those with a family history of cancer.

This free and informative webinar features:

Christina Nakamoto, PA-C, MPH. the Medical Science Liaison for Urology at Myriad Genetics, Inc. Prior to joining Myriad, Christina worked as a Physician Assistant for several years in both medical oncology and surgical oncology. She is passionate about expanding access to hereditary cancer testing, and early detection of cancer.

Michael Glode, MD, an oncologist and medical school faculty member at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Dr. Glode will answer questions with Christina during the question and answer period.

“Beginning with my medical school experience at Washington University, I have pursued the idea that being a physician should be more than participating in the daily care of patients. Although clinical medicine is indeed rewarding, only through careful observation, research and publication of data will the field (and health of humans and animals) move forward. I have participated in numerous clinical trials of new drugs, many of which led to approval of new cancer treatments and I had the opportunity to treat thousands of patients in my weekly clinics.”

The session includes a live Q&A. Send your questions in advance to contactus@aspatients.org.

Please click on the registration link below, as ASPI welcomes you to our yearly kickoff webinar to help men and families live, learn and thrive with expertise about PCa.

Register here

We invite you to join us on Nov 25 at noon for our monthly webinar. We are graced with an unusual board as our members have many decades on Active Surveillance, and also as three of us have transitioned elegantly to treatment, we also have much knowledge to offer in that area.

ASPI wants to do what we can to minimize the over-treatment of prostate cancer, and also to help you to lower your anxiety. Our board members have reached a place of peaceful vigilance and we feel that through these more informal gatherings we might help you find that place too.

Recently, UOMO published the results of their EUPROMS study and it confirmed what we knew. Too many men are abandoning AS. On Nov. 25 we are having an open session where you might ask us if there are issues weighing on you. For some that is anxiety. For the most part our board has gone through that same anxiety, but come out in a place of peaceful vigilance. If you have questions around that or anything else, please bring them on Nov 25.

We’re not here to give medical advice, but we are here to lend an ear and have a chat. If you do not want your question to appear in the final Youtube video on our website, it can be edited out at your request.

Please join us Saturday, October 28 at 12 pm ET, to honor trailblazer and founding ASPI board member Thrainn Thorvaldsson with its first Patient Advocacy Award. We will be celebrating Thrainn in his support for men on Active Surveillance. He was ahead of his time in creating support and education groups for men on AS in his native Iceland and internationally through ASPI. Several guest speakers will speak about their relationships with Thrainn.

Following the ceremony, we will open the floor for discussion from the audience. Our prior award programs have included The 2022 Chodak award honoring Dr. Laurence Klotz, the father of AS, and 2023 recipient Peter Albertson. In 2023 ASPI also awarded its first Advocacy Award to MUSIC (Michigan Urological Surgery Improvement Collaborative), whose program has resulted statewide into a 90%+ uptake of AS in Michigan vs. a 60% rate nationally. Please see our videos of these moving events.

We hope you can join us October 28.

During September’s Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, Active Surveillance Patients International (ASPI) is sponsoring a webinar, “Applied Research and Lifestyles and Low-Risk Prostate Cancer,” from 12-1:30 p.m. Eastern, Saturday Sept. 30.

Topics covered will include; Role of Exercise for Deterring Prostate Cancer Progression/Death, Role of Diet for Men Living with Prostate Cancer/AS, Lifestyle Scores & Prostate Cancer Progression, Practical Advice on Diet for Men living with Prostate Cancer and cancer causes such as carcinogens/diet/hereditary and mental health mindfulness for cancer.

The program will feature Dr. June Chan and her research team at the University of California, San Francisco, who will demonstrate which research findings and pending research ties into exercise.

Dr. Stacey Kenfield, Urology Professor at UCSF, and Greta Macaire RD MA, a dietitian at UCSF, will discuss diet – recommendations, what is in food, published studies including Prostate 8 study, diet patterns, carcinogens in food preparation, supplements guidance.

Newly diagnosed patients with prostate cancer often ask if there is a particular diet plan they should follow.

Stacy Loeb, MD, a professor in the Department of Urology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine addresses diet and other lifestyle questions in the newest segment of AS 101, an ongoing “college-like” course to help these newly diagnosed patients.

Dr. Loeb is studying to be board certified in lifestyle medicine. With her urology expertise, she has researched the benefits of a whole food plant-based diet, including exercise and sleep, for patients with low-risk prostate cancer.

The free program will take place 12-1:30 p.m. Eastern on August 26, 2023. Register using the link at the bottom of this page that says “Website”.

Some men with prostate cancer may have a concurrent common issue…where is the next toilet, and can I get there on time? These urination issues are often caused by BPH, but there are other causes, e.g. overactive bladder. On July 1 at noon we will have Dr. Dean Elterman, an academic urologist at the University of Toronto, share his vast experience followed by a Q and A. We also plan to invite a couple of you who may offer some guidance. About a year ago , we invited Dr Kaplan to speak on this topic. This video serves as a good background for our July 1 meeting. https://youtu.be/Rmqm8wxooDU

Dean Elterman, MD, an academic urologist at the University of Toronto, is presenting a free webinar, “Pissed Off: The Many Ways Urination Can Go Wrong” to Active Surveillance Patients International at 12-1:30 p.m. Eastern on July 1, 2023.

Elterman’s research interests include voiding dysfunction, benign prostate enlargement, and men’s health.

He is the medical director of the Prostate Cancer Rehabilitation Clinic at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.

Elterman trained at the University of Toronto, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and Weill Cornell Medical Center. He lectures internationally on the topics of novel technologies for BPH and teaches courses at the American Urological Association. The session will be followed with a live Q&A. Send your questions in advance to ASPI Chair Mark Lichty at: mlichty@ptd.net.

On May 27th at noon we will present Imaging: The Leading Edge with Dr. Correa of Fox Chase. Two of our board members have Dr. Correa as their urologist due to his gentle manner, and listening spirit. He also does microultrasound imaging which is achieving comparable results to MRIs.