Australian Men’s Health Week takes place from June 9-15 and few issues will feature as prominently as prostate cancer.
Nationally it’s the most commonly diagnosed cancer, with more than 70 men diagnosed a day, and over the next five years the number of men living beyond a diagnosis will surpass 300,000.
With so many long-term survivors and a low rate of death, Australia ranks at the top of the international leaderboard.
When it comes to support, however, Australia performs poorly.
In contrast to Australia’s vibrant breast cancer movement, uptake of support for men with prostate cancer has lagged, and men often face their diagnosis alone.
All that is set to change dramatically thanks to the Blue Man campaign which will be run through Men’s Health Week and aims to spread awareness of a national network of support groups affiliated with Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA).
Of the 130 support groups nationwide, 29 are based in Victoria and one in the inner-west, with the Westgate Region Prostate Cancer Support Group having existed since 1996.
“None of us are medicos so we can’t give medical information, it’s more about telling our stories,” said group leader Les Mather of the monthly meetings.
“Other men get some sort of satisfaction from that, especially new ones who come along and hear other men’s stories and they realise they’re not alone,” said Mr Mather, adding that the support group was as much about mental health as it was physical.
“A lot of men when they’re diagnosed with prostate cancer or any cancer, once they hear the word cancer they don’t hear much else.”
The group meets at 9.30am on the second Monday of each month at St Clements Church in Altona Meadows and is open to all men with prostate health issues, not just cancer.
“It usually runs an hour and a half and then we have a bite to eat and a chit chat after,” said Mr Mather.
To join a local support group and get involved in the Blue Man campaign, go to https://www.pcfa.org.au/support/find-a-support-group/, https://www.vicprostatecouncil.org or phone PCFA on 1800 22 00 99.
