For prostate cancer survivor Jim O’Hara, starting a prostate cancer support group in 1999 was an easy decision. “My wife and I moved to Peachtree City and found that there weren’t any support groups, so I started this group. I had a strong interest in helping people and knew all too well that just because you’ve been treated, it doesn’t mean you’re clear of the disease,” he says. “I never feel like I’m completely out of the woods, even after being diagnosed and treated 16 years ago.”
O’Hara co-facilitates the Prostate Cancer Information Group at Cancer Wellness at Piedmont Fayette Hospital with Marc Bramblett, a retired minister. Sponsored by the American Cancer Society and Us TOO International, the group meets every fourth Tuesday of the month (except in December) from 7 to 9 p.m. Partners and family are welcome to attend. “The group is directed toward people dealing with prostate cancer and/or those with an interest in prostate cancer,” explains O’Hara. “Some people who attend haven’t been diagnosed, but may have an elevated PSA level. The majority of attendees have been diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer. Some people were treated 10 years ago and still attend out of interest in the disease.”
O’Hara and Bramblett focus on educating attendees about their treatment options and recent advances in these treatments. “We have a program each month, which is either a speaker or a video of a talk at one of the Prostate Cancer Research Institute conferences,” he says. “These conferences are held each September in Los Angeles. I worked for the Institute for 10 years and have access to these videos. We typically have a 45-minute to one hour program, followed by 45 minutes to an hour of open questions on any topic.”
O’Hara says he doesn't call it a "support group," but admits that men attend regularly because they have developed friendships with other participants, want to support each other as they learn more about their condition and trust the resources available to the group. “Men are typically information-oriented,” he says. “We don’t give medical advice at our meetings. I advise men to learn as much about their diagnosis as they can. Understand the dynamics of your PSA level and how likely it is that your cancer is confined to the prostate.”
If the cancer is aggressive and requires treatment, O’Hara recommends learning about surgery, external radiation and radioactive seed implants to determine what you are most comfortable with. “My piece of advice is whatever treatment you pick, find an expert, someone who is very experienced,” he explains. “It can make a big difference not necessarily in the cure rates but in the side effects that result from treatment.
“Feel comfortable with the amount of information you have in making decisions along the way. The way to feel comfortable is to understand the disease, learning not only from the doctors we have speaking to our group, but also from people who have had the various treatments,” O’Hara says. “If there is someone who attends and is newly diagnosed, he’s going to find that there are people who have had any of the treatments he’s considering. There are a wide variety of experiences to draw from.”
O’Hara says Cancer Wellness at Piedmont and its support groups are a valuable resource for the Fayette County community. “The Center has a variety of other programs that may be of benefit not only to the man who’s attending, but to people he knows who are dealing with other cancers,” he says. “This center is a big benefit to our community.” For more information about the Prostate Cancer Information Group as well as other resources, visit Cancer Wellness at Piedmont.
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