Prostate Cancer Centre
BlueCircle is a longstanding and proud sponsor of the Calgary Motorcycle Ride For Dad and fully intends to be involved again in 2017. We were recently invited to stop in at the Prostate Cancer Centre, along with other members of the RFD Executive, to meet some of the research team and tour the facility. We've helped raise a fair bit of money over the years and 2016 was no exception, and all of it stays right here in Alberta, with some of the funds going toward research and some toward an awareness campaign. The Calgary RFD donated $40,300.00 toward the research portion of the campaign and in the 9 years of it's existence has made a total contribution of $463,853.00.
This year the awareness campaign has been expanded, with the Man-Van not just testing for PSA but also including a "Know Your Numbers" component. This part consists of a body mass index test, blood sugar count and blood pressure test. With 6600+ men tested and 4100+ accessing the programs and services, you can see how much of an impact this initiative has on our community, comprised of Calgary and surrounding rural and urban areas. Interestingly, this additional testing also had some serious implications of men's health, with 47% men considered obese, 4% having high blood sugar, and 66% having high blood pressure. Many men don't go to see a doctor until they're "very ill" so getting men in to the Man-Van mobile clinic is an important first step in getting men steered in the right direction for better health awareness. As for the actual PSA testing, 55% of men who visit the Man-Van have never been previously tested. When considering that 1 in 4 men will get prostate cancer and it's 98% survivable when detected early, this is yet another strong case for keeping the great efforts up for funding.
 |
| The Calgary Motorcycle Ride For Dad raises funds that help research at the Prostate Cancer Centre |
 |
| Urologist Dr. Eric Hyndman explains the research program |
 |
| Linda McNaughton, Director of Resource and Community Development at the Prostate Cancer Centre, took us on a tour |
 |
| Where lots of the thinking takes place |
No comments:
Post a Comment