Thursday, August 18, 2011

Oktoberfest For a Cure!!


We're fast approaching the end of the "official" summer season, but with the month of September comes "Prostate Cancer Awareness Month".

In light of that, Pints for Prostates has a whole host of events scheduled to help raise awareness of the importance of early testing and prevention of prostate cancer.

This year's fall campaign is "Oktoberfest for a Cure", and there's bound to be an event near you to help support the fight against prostate cancer and get the husbands, fathers, brothers, sons and friends the information they need to better understand how critical and important early detection of prostate cancer can be.




FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
RICK LYKE, APR                                                                              
PINTS FOR PROSTATES INC.                                              
704-340-2840                                                 

Pints for Prostates Holding Oktoberfest for a Cure Events to
Reach Men Through the Universal Language of Beer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Pints for Prostates is organizing a series of Oktoberfest for a Cure events designed to encourage men to take charge of their health and get regular prostate health screenings.

 The Oktoberfest for a Cure celebration takes place from Aug. 26 to Oct. 22 and includes more than 20 special rare beer tastings, appearances at festivals, events at breweries and retailers from San Francisco to Boston, and a nine night trip to the Czech Republic and Germany that culminates at the original Oktoberfest in Munich.

 “September is National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and the fall is also a time when a great many beer festivals take place. It is the perfect time to reach men through the universal language of beer,” said Rick Lyke, a drinks journalist and prostate cancer survivor. Lyke founded Pints for Prostates in 2008 after successful prostate cancer surgery. The group urges men to get regular prostate health screenings.

Oktoberfest for a Cure prostate cancer awareness events have been made possible by generous grants from Dendreon Corp., Rogue Ales and the Oregon Brewers Festival. Support has also been provided by BeerTrips.com, Brewer’s Best and All About Beer Magazine, along with venue operators, brewers and partner organizations.

 The preliminary schedule for Pints for Prostates Oktoberfest for a Cure includes:
  • Aug. 26-27 and Sept. 1-30: Prescott Brewing Co., Prescott. Ariz. Mobile testing unit at two locations in Prescott. Prescott Brewing will also offer a commemorative Pints for Prostates glass during September.
  • Aug. 27 from Noon to 8 p.m.: Midwest Brewers Fest, Plainfield, Ill.
  • Sept. 1 from 5:30-8:30 p.m.: Pints for Prostates at the Liberty Steakhouse & Brewery in High Point, N.C.,  with the High Point Regional Health System. The first 100 guests receive a special pint glass.
  • Sept. 7 from 6-8 p.m.: Pints for Prostates at Pyramid Alehouse, Walnut Creek, Calif. Presented by Diablo Valley Oncology and Pacific Urology. For more information visit http://www.diablovalleyoncology.md/events/blog.
  • Sept. 9-19: Pints for Prostates European Beer Tour with stops in Prague, Bamberg and Munich for Oktoberfest. www.BeerTrips.com for more details.
  • Sept. 9 from 6-9 p.m.: Pints for Prostates  Los Angeles Jazz Tasting at the Sheraton Four Points, 9750 Airport Blvd. Tickets are $30 and include beer and wine samples, hors d’Ĺ“uvres and live jazz. Tickets are available at www.pintsforprostates.org.
  • Sept. 9 from 6-11 p.m.: San Diego Professionals Against Cancer 17th Annual Festival of Beer at Columbia and B Streets, San Diego, Calif.
  • Sept. 10 from 4-8 p.m.: Brewpalooza, Hyde Park Village, Tampa, Fla.
  • Sept. 21 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.: Oktoberfest for a Cure Arlington Toast with Zero, at Champps Americana Pentagon Row, 1201 S. Joyce St., Arlington, Va. Tickets are $25 and available at www.pintsforprostates.org
  • Sept. 24 from 1-4p.m.: San Diego County Beer Fair at the Liberty Station at Ingram Plaza, San Diego, Calif.
  • Sept. 29 to Oct. 1: Great American Beer Festival, Colorado Convention Center, Denver, Colo.
  • Sept. 30 from 1-4 p.m.: Denver Rare Beer Tasting III, presented by All About Beer Magazine at the Wynkoop Brewery, Denver, Colo.
  • Oct. 5 from 6-10 p.m.: VBGB Oktoberfest for a Cure Cornhole Tournament at VBGB, 920 Hamilton St., Charlotte, N.C. Includes first Charlotte tapping of Highland PSA Pilsner.
  • Oct. 6 from 6-9 p.m.: Baltimore Beer Opening Tap Celebration at the Rams Head in Baltimore, Md., $30 includes beer samples, finger food and live music.
  • Oct. 8 from Noon-10 p.m.: World Beer Festival, Durham Bulls Athletic Park, Durham, N.C.
  • Oct. 11 from 5:30-7:00 p.m.: Harpoon Cares Oktoberfest for a Cure, Harpoon Brewery Tasting Room, 306 Northern Ave., Boston, Mass. Tickets are available atwww.pintsforprostates.org.
  • Oct. 17 from 6-9 p.m.:  Johnny Malloy’s Medina at 1038 North Court, Medina, Ohio, part of Cleveland Beer Week.
  • Oct. 18 from 6-9 p.m.:  Johnny Malloy’s Chapel Hill at 1954 Buchhozer, Akron, Ohio, part of Cleveland Beer Week.
  • Oct. 19 from 6-9 p.m.:  Johnny Malloy’s Strongsville, 15323 Pearl Road, Strongsville, Ohio, part of Cleveland Beer Week.
  • Oct. 22 6:30-8:30 p.m.: Piedmont Brewer’s Cup homebrewing competition at Big Boss Brewery, 1249 Wicker Dr., Raleigh, N.C.
Additional Pints for Prostates Oktoberfest for a Cure events are expected to be scheduled in the coming weeks. A complete listing of events is available at www.pintsforprostates.org.

“Oktoberfest for a Cure is an opportunity for the beer community to come together over a critical health issue. Men are 33 percent more likely to develop prostate cancer than women are to have breast cancer. The sad fact is that men are about 30 years behind women in advocating for their health,” said Lyke, who was 47 years old at the time his cancer was detected during a routine physical exam. He did not have any symptoms or family history of the disease. “According to the National Cancer Institute, prostate cancer claimed the lives of more than 33,700 American men in 2011. The fact is most of these deaths could have been prevented with regular prostate health screenings.”

About Pints for Prostates
Pints for Prostates is a 501(c)3 a campaign that reaches men through the universal language of beer to encourage them to take charge of their health. The group was founded by prostate cancer survivor and beer writer Rick Lyke in 2008. The grassroots effort raises awareness among men about the importance of regular health screenings and PSA testing by making appearances at beer festivals, social networking and pro bono advertising. According to the National Cancer Institute, 240,890 new prostate cancer cases will be diagnosed in the U.S. in 2011. More information is available at www.pintsforprostates.org. Pints for Prostates also has a presence on Facebook and Twitter (@pints4prostates).

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

A message worth repeating . . .


"Cancer sucks my friends! It alters your life, your feelings, your goals, your priorities in a way that no one can understand unless you have experienced it first hand. Maybe not all bad! But just when you had a plan for the next 30 years - the plan changed, and you had nothing to say about it!"


- - - - - - - - - - - - -

A fellow prostate cancer patient from Pennsylvania, someone I met through a Facebook cancer discussion group, yesterday completed his radiation treatments. "Fred" wrote the above statement a number of months back.  He's right.


Fred and I have talked about our situations, and shared some of the hatred we have for this disease - as well as supported each other through this rocky road.  Prostate cancer patients develop a brotherhood over a period of time.  It doesn't matter what your age is, or how early you found out about your cancer. The harsh reality is that it really does "suck"!

Like any cancer diagnosis, your life changes in an instant. The words alone can cut into your heart like a dagger. This isn't a disease that only affects the patient physically - it can affect every aspect of your life. That's the part that people don't always understand.

My wife sat next to me the day I got the results of my biopsy -  "the long talk" as the staff at my urologists' office referred to it.  We did the best we could to hold back the shock and tears - until we walked out of the doctor's offices.  She collapsed into my arms sobbing as soon as the door closed behind us.

It's now been almost two years since that day.  My operation in October '09 was a "success" in the sense of removing the tumorous prostate gland, multiple nerve bundles, twenty lymph nodes and some surrounding tissue that had been affected.  My PSA levels have been great. I spent last summer undergoing daily radiation treatments and trying to adjust to body chemistry changes thanks to the ADT hormone therapy I was also undergoing.   Trust me, it made for a interesting summer.

It looks pretty simple on the screen, doesn't it.

What it comes down to is this; I'm doing what the doctors have told me I need to be doing to increase my chances of beating this cancer.  That's not something I take lightly, nor is it something that is run of the mill.

My friends and former co-workers know I have this fight ahead of me.  They offer their support and on occasion ask how I'm doing. "Fine", "Hanging in there", "Fighting the good fight", "Being where I'm supposed to be, when I'm supposed to be there" are my typical standard answers.  But I'm not always "fine". This sucks more than anyone of them can know.  

Sure, I am very fortunate to have what looks to be a very good prognosis and things could be a whole lot worse - for that I am very blessed and grateful.  But as a cancer patient in "remission" (or whatever label you want to put on it), every little "different sensation" you feel get you wondering if it's coming back.  I had no symptoms when I was first diagnosed, so how the heck am I supposed to tell whether or not something I feel or sense is an indication of a return?

Many advanced stage prostate cancer patients who develop metastatic cancer begin to experience pelvic or lower back pain.  I've had back issues in the past (for many years), so when I have issue with my lower back now and it feels "different" than other times, my mind starts to wander a bit.

I really have no hard reason to worry that it could be the cancer coming back, it's just one of those things you think about as someone who has been diagnosed with the disease.

The pre-test anxiety level is beginning to return a bitIn two weeks I meet with my medical and radiation oncologists at Sloan-Kettering for the first time since March and December respectfully.  It will be the first blood work I've had done in five months.  I certainly don't expect anything to have changed, but I've had plenty of surprises and always need to be prepared for what ever comes along.

Thanks again to those that are still following along with this blog. I appreciate your support and friendship.

Cheers!

Chris

BTW . . .  Janet and I will be celebrating 27 years of marriage this Thursday, August 4th.  She doesn't know it yet, but I plan on being around at least until our 50th.