The Hunter Prostate

Cancer Alliance joined

forces with Coal Services

this year to launch a three

year program that aims to

create awareness and

educate workers in the

NSW coal mining industry

on prostate cancer.

The campaign was officially

launched on March 2nd at

the Coal Services Mines

Rescue Station, Argenton

by the NSW Minister for

Resources and Energy, the

Hon. Chris Hartcher.

Coal Services Pty Limited is

the newest major sponsor

of the HPCA, has over

25,000 members. Every

coal mine site within NSW

will be visited by HPCA

counsellors during the

three year campaign

where educational

seminars on prostate

cancer will take place.

The opportunity to directly

reach such a large group of

males in the hunter region

is greatly appreciated by

the HPCA.

We would like to thank

Coal Services for their

support and commitment

to community health.

BE

LO

W T

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From L to R: HPCA Chairman Nick Sovechles, Coal Services CEO Lucy Flemming, Coal Services Health General Manager Mark O’Neill,

HPCA Ambassador Michael Hagan, Minister for Resource and Energy the Hon. Chris Hartcher, Member for Newcastle Tim Owen,

HPCA Executive Marketing Manager Leigh Maughan Coal Services Chairman Tony Haraldson.

Coal Services & HPCA unite to fight prostate cancer

INS IDE THIS IS S UE:

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The Hunter Prostate Cancer Alliance (HPCA) held their

Annual Fundraising Ball ‘Arabian Nights’ on Saturday 5th

May at West’s Leagues Club.

The Starlight Room

was transformed into

an Arabian palace,

filled with Middle

Eastern Princesses and

Sultans. Member for

Newcastle Tim Owen

and wife Charlotte

took out the best

dressed award, looking magnificent in beads and beards.

Guests were mesmerized by the belly dancers and

tantalised by Moroccan cuisine..

Prostate Cancer

survivor and

award winning

comedian Paul

Martell was an

absolute scream

and the NSW

Police Band was a

huge hit, charming

all guests to the

dance floor. Thank you to all local businesses that

contributed to another fabulous night and all those who

attended! Your support is greatly appreciated!

2

Next time you’re in your local pub in

Newcastle, Lake Macquarie or Cessnock, drop

your loose change into the giant blue

prostate box! The initiative launched by the

AHA and HPCA in 2011 aims to support the

fight against prostate cancer within our

community. Your donation goes towards saving

local blokes from prostate cancer.

Chairman’s

Address

2012 is set to be a big year for

HPCA! Firstly, the support and

commitment from Coal Services

that has allowed us to reach an

audience of over 25,000 of their

employees is astounding and

greatly appreciated. Every male

over the age of 40 should know that they need to get

tested regularly for prostate cancer.

Thanks to the commitment of Coal Services in

educating their workforce on prostate cancer the three

year campaign will play a significant role in reducing

the mortality rate of prostate cancer in NSW. We are

confident this initiative will save thousands of men’s

lives working in the coal industry, and look forward to

seeing the statistics which reflect this initiative.

We celebrated our 3rd Annual Ball in May this year.

What a great night! We were delighted to share this

‘Arabian Night’ with our valuable sponsors,

contributors, clients and friends. We look forward to

celebrating a successful year as a result.

As a joint fundraising and awareness campaign, HPCA

and the AHA Hunter Division launched our ‘Little Prick’

Donation Boxes last year of which we are seeing

tremendous results. It’s amazing how far your loose

change can go! A big thank you to all the participating

AHA pubs.

We are continuing to work closer with the medical

community to provide a valuable referral service for

their prostate cancer patients and families.

�HPCA wouldn’t be able to con�nue to reach the

milestones we are currently reaching without the

support of our community in initiatives such as the ones

mentioned above. Thank you for your support.

Donation boxesDonation boxesDonation boxesDonation boxes

Member for Newcastle Tim & Charlotte Owen

Michael and Sue Hagan

3

Senior Counsellor, B.Ed., Adv.Dip Psych.,

Grad.Cert>couns., M. Couns, ARCAP, CMACA: 3599

We all shudder when we hear the word

‘cancer’. It is generally considered as one of the

most frightening diseases. As one client put it "cancer is

everyone’s worse nightmare”. There is a mythology surrounding

cancer and most particularly prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is

generally poorly understood and we don’t like to talk about it.

Typically when someone is diagnosed with cancer, their

immediate thought is “Oh gosh, I’m going to die”. Their mind

goes blank and they don’t take in what their doctor is saying to

them.

There are also some common responses to a diagnosis of cancer.

These can be emotional or cognitive such as – shock, disbelief,

anger, confusion, despair, anxiety, grief, denial; and physical or

behavioural, such as - sleep disturbances, appetite changes,

headaches, heart palpitations, feeling stressed or edgy, needing

to be around others, or social withdrawal and perhaps alcohol

use and/or abuse.

For men, when they are

diagnosed with cancer they

not only have those initial

thoughts of mortality, they

also think about their family

and what will happen to them

if they are not around to

provide for them. These

thoughts cause a great deal of

emotional distress.

Sometimes, in order to protect their families, men will project a

‘brave front’ and, suggesting that the diagnosis doesn’t worry

them, they internalise their feelings. This can cause physical

distress to the body and may manifest as depression later.

On top of this, when a man is diagnosed with prostate cancer he

not only has the fears of “I’m going to die” and “who will provide

for my family?” He has the added fear of “I’m going to be

impotent” or “I’m going to be incontinent”. These are the two

things that men know most about prostate cancer. For prostate

cancer, if diagnosed early, impotence and incontinence are not

necessarily an issue. There are treatment options available and

quite a bit of information to absorb.

How can counselling help?

A lot of men are uncomfortable with the idea of counselling. It is

a well known fact that men are often more reluctant than women

to go into counselling or therapy. They tend to think

“Counselling…I’m not going to sit around and talk about my

feelings!” There is a lot of evidence that counselling can be of

immense benefit to men, after a prostate cancer diagnosis, and

should be considered an integral part of the care process.

Counselling is really just two people in a

room talking. HPCA offers a free

Counselling and Information Service which

provides a confidential and understanding

environment specifically designed for

helping people with prostate cancer issues.

Many men have said, quite often in

amazement, “I have talked, with you,

about things I would never have thought I

would talk about to anyone!”

Another of the client’s to our Counselling

and Information Service commented that

“One of the things I discovered during

counselling, was that I actually enjoyed

having a counsellor who tried to

understand things from my point of view, who accepted me

without conditions attached, and was honest with me. I found

that I really did begin to feel better, once I understood the

situation more clearly and I was able to make constructive

choices for myself and my life.”

The HPCA Counselling and Information Service is a free

service for anyone with questions about prostate cancer or

who has been impacted on by a diagnosis of prostate cancer.

Call our Helpline on 1300 881 826 or the office on 49689455

to speak with a Counsellor or make an appointment.

“ I hav e

tal k e d, w i th

y ou, about

thi ngs I

w oul d ne v e r

hav e

thought I

w oul d tal k

about to

any one ! ”

B.Arts (Psych); Dip.Prof.Counselling

A paper was released recently in the

Medical Journal of Australia proposing

that 25% of future cancers

in Australia could be prevented by simply

adopting improvements in diet and

physical activity.

"Chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer

are the most common public health threats in the 21st

century. Cancer accounted for about 19% of the total disease

burden in Australia in 2010 and the Australian community

pays about $3.8 billion per year in direct health system costs.

Fortunately, in spite of the large and increasing impact of

chronic diseases, they are also the most preventable

diseases. Only about 5%–10% of cancers are due to genetic or

inherited disorders, with the remainder being due to external

factors (environmental factors or those related to diet and

lifestyle)"

“Experts in cancer epidemiology, nutrition, public health and

cancer biology systematically examined the association

between food, nutrition and physical activity (including body

fatness) and the prevention of cancer. Our calculations

represent the proportion of cancer incidence that could be

prevented if poor nutrition and diet, physical inactivity and

obesity were eliminated, while leaving other risk factors

unchanged.”

View the abstract and full article at;

https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2012/196/5/estimating-

future-burden-cancers-preventable-better-diet-and-physical-

activity

AARON ELLIOTT D

i

J EN N I F ER R I CHA R DS

Counsellors Corner

4

HPCA

Volunteers

The HPCA Volunteer

Recruitment Drive from the

14th-18th of May. Thank

you to those who attended

the information session

and BBQ at HPCA and a

very warm welcome to our

new recruits!

If you have any time and talents you can donate to HPCA, support

your local community in a rewarding and fulfilling way by joining

our team! Call Volunteer Coordinator, Jennifer on 4968 9455.

Vaughan MartenVaughan Marten has

been a dedicated

member of HPCA since

the first recruitment

drive in December 2009.

Vaughan initially signed up with HPCA as he

strongly believes in the aims and objectives

of the organisation, and the unique

opportunities provided by the in-house

counselling service for people who are

diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Vaughan’s experience with prostate cancer

has given him the opportunity to fulfil his

passion of raising awareness of prostate

cancer, especially given the poor statistics

within the Hunter Region.

Vaughan thoroughly enjoys his volunteer

work with HPCA as a Volunteer Information

Provider (VIP) not only because he can help

raise awareness of prostate cancer, but on a

personal level it helps him to come to grips

with his own diagnosis. Vaughan says if his

experience can assist others through

education that’s extremely fulfilling and

satisfying.

Vaughan enjoys the good fellowship with

other HPCA VIP’s which allows them to

effectively support and compliment each

other in a team environment.

“Knowing you are moving in a circle with

other people who have similar experience

to you is reassuring”.

Meet our Volunteers

Find us on

facebook!Search for: ‘Hunter

Prostate Cancer Alliance’

on Facebook and click the

‘Like’ buttonL to R: Jim Hayes, Vaughan Marten, Jeff

Hughes, Tony Bale and Max Brown