New help available for prostate cancer patients in Edinburgh

A free service has been launched to support men in Lothian with a diagnosis of prostate cancer.

From left to right: Adam Gaines and Andrew Anderson launching two new services for prostate cancer patients.

The joint initiative between Prostate Scotland and Maggie’s Edinburgh was launched last month and offers men with prostate cancer two new ways to get support, information and help.

Men can speak to an experienced Maggie’s Cancer Support Specialist about any aspect of their diagnosis or living with prostate cancer. Appointments are available via video link or phone as well as socially distance consultations conducted in person

Men can also join a seven-week ‘Living Well With Prostate Cancer’ online course when they are undergoing treatment or when treatment has finished to hear from experts about managing side effects and how to live well.

The first edition of the course starts on Thursday, October 29, 2020 and is free of charge, due to the significant interest shown the same course will be run in January.

Currently, men living in Scotland have a one in ten chance of developing prostate cancer with the condition being the most common form of cancer among men in the country.

A local hill-walking enthusiast from Edinburgh, Derek Brown, had his cancerous prostate removed four years ago.

The 67-year-old Murrayfield native has sung the praises of the new support service encouraging others in a similar situation to get in touch to make sure they get the support they need.

He said: “I was lucky, a golf-club pal had undergone the same procedure and gave me

invaluable advice. Living Well With Prostate Cancer is a seven-week course that you do over video call that provides similar support”.

The two new services are part of Prostate Scotland’s Comprehensive Prostate Support Service for Scotland project, known as COMPASS, which aims to help men across Scotland navigate prostate cancer and disease through a range of support and wellbeing services.

Head of Maggie’s Edinburgh and a former oncology nurse Andrew Anderson who will deliver the new service says: “Finding out you have prostate cancer or living with prostate cancer can change your life.

“Men with prostate conditions also face critical decisions about their treatment. The new support service creates space to discuss those options in a less formal environment with someone who has specialist knowledge.

“It is also a place to discuss symptoms and side effects, or simply the impact that it has had in your life.”

Director of Prostate Scotland Adam Gaines said:“We established COMPASS after surveying men with prostate cancer. We wanted to better understand their experiences and needs. Encouragingly most were satisfied with their medical care and treatment, but there was a clear need for more support for those living with the disease and their families. The new service with Maggie’s Edinburgh will ensure men across the Lothians have somewhere to turn to for help and support with prostate cancer when they need it most”.

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