In The News

Well-Done Meat Consumption May Increase Prostate Cancer Risk
Research into the dietary habits of about a thousand men from the Cleveland area has found that a high consumption of meats, especially of red meat prepared by grilling, is positively associated with an increased risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer. This particular study, which was led by Dr. John Witte of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), has a number of limitations, but it does add support to other investigations connecting meat consumption with cancer risk.

Toronto researchers speculate regarding a link between prostate cancer and oral contraceptive use
Very preliminary and speculative research, designed to spark further inquires, suggests that there may be a connection between oral contraceptive use and rising rates of prostate cancer. One theory is that the widespread use of birth-control pills in various populations may result in a higher level of estrogen in the environment, which might, in turn, increase prostate cancer risk.

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Keep Spreading The News

8/30/2010

Maintaining appropriate levels of membership recruitment over the years can be a real challenge. So this issue is bound to be front and centre during the team building and support group capacity & sustainability components of the 2010 National Prostate Cancer Conference (proudly funded by Movember). Meanwhile, here are a few tips ...

Remember those heady days when your prostate cancer support group was just getting started? You worked tirelessly to develop and distribute promotional materials and to get your message picked up by local newspapers and broadcasters, not to mention all the effort you put into networking with media personalities and medical practitioners. And it all paid off. You recruited new and enthusiastic members who were committed to the success of your group and to one another.

But maintaining appropriate levels of membership recruitment over the years can be a real challenge. So this issue is bound to be front and centre during the team building and support group capacity & sustainability components of the 2010 National Prostate Cancer Conference.

Here are a few tips:

Decide which sorts of promotional material will appeal to your target audience and best suit your purpose. There are many options:

Posters or flyers for bulletin boards
Rack cards, book marks, or fridge magnets for people to take home
News stories or press releases for the media
Short public service announcements for community websites, broadcasting stations, or organizational newsletters

Keep promotional material creative but focussed and to the point. If you are designing your own print publicity, don’t clutter things up. Select one key element to emphasize, whether that’s a powerful photo, a blazing colour, or an interesting (readable!) font. And stay on message. You don’t want to drown people in information; you want them to do something. So the focus of the message should be a call to action. As parents everywhere teach their children, ““You’ll never get what you want if you don’t ask for it.” (See Prostate Cancer Canada’s excellent, attention-grabbing graphic below to get an idea of what a “call to action” looks like.)

Think about where the people you want to attract are likely to see meeting notices or to hear about your group. Then distribute your promotional materials accordingly. (Remember to receive permission before posting or leaving material, though.) Some locations to consider are obvious: local hospitals or cancer clinics, community health centres, and GP and urologists’ offices. But other spots can be important too.

The staff or lunch rooms of major local corporations or organizations
Sports facilities or clubs (e.g., golf or tennis clubs, hockey arenas)
Libraries
Supermarkets, pharmacies, and shopping centres
Local service clubs (e.g., Rotary Club, Kiwanis Club, Knights of Columbus)
Churches

When at all possible, use the contacts of support group members and of their friends and families to establish a network of “places” that have information about your group.

Use the media effectively to promote your group. The important thing to remember here is that journalists and broadcasters receive hundreds of media releases each week, so you have to activate your message---make it into a new or interesting narrative, a good story. Annette Simmons, author of Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins, writes about the power of the good story: “The truth is, your facts aren't as powerful as human emotions. Feelings alter facts, at least the impact of facts ... so being right is only halfway to action. The rest of the way is through perceptions and feelings. The goal is to alternate back and forth between linear thinking when talking about the facts, and nonlinear thinking when telling or interpreting a story.” So what stories about your group will move people to action, and how can you get those stories “out there”? Consider the following:

How is this message “news”? Try to identify a new angle, a reason for the message to warrant a piece in the local paper, for example. Do you have an expert coming to town to speak? Has new research uncovered something interesting about prostate cancer incidence or treatment? Has a local celebrity just come on board to help you at an event? Have you just donated money to your local hospital or received a major donation?
Does this message have a human-interest component? Perhaps a person from your support group has an interesting and relevant story to tell about his cancer experience. Or maybe a volunteer who is well respected in your community is willing to share the reasons that she commits her spare time to prostate cancer support.
Which journalists would be interested in this message? Does anyone in the support group have media contacts? If so, you won’t have to make a cold call to pitch your story. If not, look at which local journalists are writing or broadcasting human-interest stories, and approach them with a story idea.
How can I best pitch this story? It’s best if you have a plan to “sell” your story. Think about how the story is news and why it’s of local and human interest. Another good selling point for newspapers --- great photos

Of course, these tips are just that---tips. And, taken together, they form the tip of a very large iceberg. (Finding the time to promote your group is a whole other glacier!) Still, if you are interested in these issues (or in others related to support groups), a good resource is “Canada’s supersite for the non-profit sector”---CharityVillage.

And be sure to plan on attending the seventh annual PCCN national prostate cancer conference this September!