Monthly Meetings

We meet at 2 pm on the fourth Tuesday of the month at the Congregational Church, Kilwardby St, Ashby.
There is normally a guest speaker or, in December, musical entertainment.
This is followed by tea, coffee and biscuits and a chance to meet and talk with other members.

Tea Rota and Reporting Groups

24th March – ‘Prostate Cancer’ by Dr Jyoti Shah MBE

Dr Shah is a local resident of Ashby and, far more importantly, a consultant urological surgeon at Peterborough hospital. She was previously at Burton hospital and is a renowned expert on prostate cancer and its treatment. She was awarded an MBE for Service to Medicine in 2022.

Perhaps many thought that her talk would be rather worthy and dull, perhaps scary, but instead we were treated to an interesting, educational, funny and at times hilarious talk about the diagnosis and treatment of this disease.

The serious part is that 1 man dies of prostate cancer every 45 mins in the UK and 150 men are diagnosed each day. It is the most common cancer in men and is now more common than breast cancer in women. The odds of getting it are 1:8, 1:4 if you're black. Double that if someone in your father’s male line has had it.

The good news is that it is quite treatable with a very high survival rate if diagnosed early. If you notice any changes down below then see a doctor immediately. You will likely be given a PSA blood test to check for symptoms. This is free on the NHS and can be followed up by further tests and treatment if needed.

Unfortunately men can be quite reluctant to go to the doctor and so Dr Shah told us of some of the ways that she and others have taken their services out to the public. They set up a screening event at Burton Albion football ground. It was so successful that they had to do another two sessions to see everyone that wanted to be tested. They have also visited Afro-Caribbean clubs and Hindu temples. In all she has seen over 3800 men at 57 clinics across the country.

This was a most enlightening talk which received a standing ovation from many, some of whom had been previous patients of Dr Shah.