Phone-in meeting this Friday 24 August 2018: USA vs AU, roundtable

[Admin]

Agenda Friday 24 August 2018

USA vs AU, roundtable

You must dial in - we do NOT dial you.

Landline - Anywhere in Australia - 25 cents
Phone numbers and password only available in email.

Problem? Call Jim.

Apologies

To come.

Late starters

Maybe you haven't had access to the agenda or you have late breaking news you would like to share. Tell the chairman here at the beginning of the meeting that you would like to speak, and he will fit you in - probably later, perhaps right now if that suits.

USA vs AU: differences you should know about when reading research
Convenor Jim Marshall's advocacy on behalf of our members took him to Melbourne last week.

[Thanks to Nev for getting Jim to and from the airport, and for supporting him in his hour of need. (Jim's recovery from major non- prostate cancer medical problems continues apace.) ]
Discussions in Melbourne included drug company representatives, medical oncologists, urologists, GPs, a prostate cancer nurse and a Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA) researcher.
The subject was about the possibility of making a new prostate cancer drug available to Australian men at a reasonable cost.
A major focus of the discussions was on USA research evidence in support of the drug, because there are important differences in how doctors and researchers from Australia and the USA interpret some technical terms.
Jim will start today's meeting by telling members some important differences between the two countries that they and their doctors should take into account when reviewing evidence that comes from the USA.

Roundtable - new stories, updates, questions

Any man who wishes is welcome to contribute here.
Member Merv Allan from Bundaberg has quite a different story from many of us. Merv will start the roundtable by telling us his story.

Formal end

The Chair will declare the formal part of the teleconference closed at his discretion, perhaps around 11am. The teleconference lines will be kept open until at least 11:30 for anyone who wishes to continue discussions, update his health, or just chat.

Informal chat

Any topic you like - topics we didn't reach, something discussed earlier you wish to comment on, an update on your health, how your new boat is going, moaning about the weather, anything that you wish to say.

Disclaimer

This Community does not give medical advice. No members are authorised to give medical advice. Ask your doctor if you hear anything here that you think may be related to your treatment.

Time

9:30am - 11:00am Eastern Standard Time (Queensland)
The formal phone-in meeting ends after 90 minutes.
The lines are kept open for up to an hour after that for members to informally chat.

Daylight savings times

Brisbane 9:30am
Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart: 10:30am Adelaide, 10:00am
Perth 7:30am
Winter times
Brisbane 9:30am
Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart 9:30am Adelaide 9:00am
Perth7:30am
Daylight saving ends first Sunday in April Daylight saving starts first Sunday in October

Mobile phone warning

The costs of mobile calls are nothing to do with the Advanced Prostate Cancer Support Group or with PCFA. They are between you and your phone provider (Optus, Telstra, Virgin, Vodafone, etc).

If you dial one of the capital city numbers given above from a mobile phone, the cost to you will be the cost on your mobile phone plan. If your plan gives you free, or low cost local calls, and you are in one of these cities, it should be free, or a local call. If your plan gives you free, or local cost national calls that should work too.

Be sure - call your provider, give the number you might be calling, and check the cost for you to call that number.

Speaking time

We want many voices to be heard. If you are a member listed to speak below, the chair will probably expect you to take no more than about 5 minutes on presentation so there is plenty of time for others to respond.

Special Guest Speakers are invited to speak for 10-15 minutes, then field questions.

Guidelines

No noise

House - radio, TV, computer, pets, other phones, conversation Yourself - mute button, or mouthpiece away from mouth
Phone - call waiting off (#43#), Mute button or hang up to leave the room. No mute button? ##4 to mute, ##5 to unmute. Cordless phone - don't carry, put on folded handkerchief to limit reverberation Other calls - Please do NOT use call waiting or another line on the same phone to take another call - members around Australia are left listening to your 'hold' music until you return.

Speaker phone

Please do NOT use a speaker phone, unless you are very good at keeping it Mute, and at lifting and using the hand piece when you wish to join in the conversation.
Mobile phone

You will need enough charge for the length of the call, or take the call with your charger plugged in.
Speaking
Speak clearly into mouthpiece in ordinary voice.

Say who you are when signing in, and each time you speak.
Listen for the gavel. The Chair may need to interrupt.
It's a meeting of 20 people, not a simple phone conversation. If you are not one of the two people in the particular conversation at the time, keep your mute button down and let others contribute.
Help the secretary by later emailing details for the minutes.Restarting
You may hang up and sign in again as many times as necessary. Sometimes we may have to restart the meeting - dial in again. With everyone calling at once you may need to try more than once.

Future phone-in support group meetings

Fourth Friday of each month, except:
January (one week late for Australia Day, making 2 meetings in February), and
December (one week early for Christmas).

Phone-in support group meeting dates 2018

August 24 (not the last Friday)
September 28
October 26
November 23 (not the last Friday)
December 14 (one week early for Christmas)

Changes or questions

If you wish to update us about any changes in your health or treatment, or have a question you would like answered or discussed, or you would like to talk about joining a teleconference group, let us know. Then we can put it high on the agenda so it doesn't get lost - just reply to this email, or use Contact Jim on JimJimJimJim.com.

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