It is unfortunate that we must report the passing of our President, Lyle LaRosh due to an unusual and unfortunate accident. A Celebration of Life cruise was held in his honor June 3rd.
Lyle was a successful businessman widely recognized in the community and worked tirelessly on fund-raising events:
Our organization would not be in existence were it not for Lyle’s efforts to properly organize and develop the Informed Prostate Cancer Support Group (IPCSG) into what it is today—a widely recognized and helpful means for men with prostate cancer (PCa) to learn how best to deal with the disease.
When Lyle was first diagnosed in 2000, he attended a meeting of a small group that was organized in 1990 by Wayne Kenaston Jr. & Frank Anders, PhD. They met in a kitchen in Spring Valley. He once told me he took 16 pages of notes from which he began to further develop and organize (IPCSG). He established a non-profit organization and began having meetings in a church in the Grantville area where about 20-30 men met to exchange ideas and learn about dealing with our disease. Occasionally professional medical specialists spoke to the group. As the group grew, he made arrangements to move the meetings to a larger facility at Moore’s Cancer Center at UCSD. We began advertising and had more medical professionals speak about our disease. The attendance continued to grow. Again, Lyle made arrangements for our group to meet at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Institute in the auditorium which has 134 seats where we have met since 2011. We have never paid rent at any of our meeting places, thanks to his recognition in the community. Our average attendance at this facility has grown to 60-90 men, spouses and significant others and our membership listing has grown to nearly 900.
Lyle developed many medical professional relationships that came to recognize the value of what we do. These include A.J. Mundt MD. Chair of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences at UCSD and Richard Lam MD of Prostate Cancer Specialists who speak to us every year to keep us informed of latest developments related to our disease. When they speak, the audience sometimes overflows the seating. The national organization Prostate Cancer Research Institute awarded Lyle the Harry Pinchot National Patients Advocacy Award for Prostate Cancer for 2009. He was instrumental in successfully nominating me for that award in 2014.
A staff of unpaid volunteers eventuated, that helped develop a library which is set up at each meeting, advertising, tri-page brochures, a monthly newsletter and a DVD is created for each meeting which is available via PayPal at a low cost. A very good website www.ipcsg.org has been developed that provides very useful notices and helpful information.
When the Covid-19 Pandemic arose and we could no longer meet, staff members created a live-stream capability that occurs at the same time we used to meet (3rd Saturday of each month starting at 10:00a.m. PT) that continues to feature professional speakers. The live-stream, Live-Stream (ipcsg.org) , is made available on YouTube shortly after each meeting. Members are notified via the website prior to these meetings.
Respectfully submitted by Gene Van Vleet, Director
Here is a link to one of the Harbor excursions that personified Lyle’s life.
Due to COVID-19, IPCSG in-person meeting have been postponed. At this time we do not know when we will resume our normal meeting schedule at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute auditorium.
In the meantime, we will be live-streaming our presenters as close to the 3rd Saturday of every month as possible.
As part of our campaign on the importance of nutrition and healthy eating during Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, we hosted a webinar with three PCF researchers who are experts in the field.
• Dr. Lorelei Mucci: Dietary Profiles and Prostate Cancer
• Dr. Nicole Simone: Harnessing Metabolic Function to Impact Tumor Progression
•Prof. Richard Mithen: It’s (Not) All About Broccoli
Let us help. We've been there and we're here to help you.
Our group is comprised of men and women, survivors, newly diagnosed, and people who want more information about Prostate Cancer and options for treating this disease.
Our meetings feature expert speakers that bring us the most current information on research, prevention, and treatment. We have been fortunate to have heard from some of the world’s leading doctors and researchers.
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic there are no in-person meetings until further notice so our monthly meetings are now live-streamed.
If you need to speak to someone that knows what you’re going through, you can speak with Gene 619-890-8447 or Bill 619-591-8670. They know what you’re going through and can help you understand your options
Read the stories of others that have Prostate Cancer, and how they are handling the challenges as well as their successes.
Prostate Cancer Foundation https://www.pcf.org/ (PCF), a non-profit research organization located in Santa Monica, CA. The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) is the world’s leading philanthropic organization dedicated to funding life-saving cancer research, funding nearly $800 million in research in the last 25 years.
As part of PCF’s educational outreach effort, we have recently developed the Prostate Cancer Patient Guide to connect patients, loved ones and care providers with critical updates, actionable information, and the latest developments from the treatment pipeline, and we would like to offer this guide as a free patient resource.
The Prostate Cancer Patient Guide, compiled with the contributions of top-tier doctors and researchers in prostate cancer, is a must-have resource for prostate cancer patients. It focuses all of the information available about contemporary prostate cancer research, treatment, and lifestyle factors into one consolidated document.
ClinicalTrials.gov is a Web-based resource that provides access to information on publicly and privately supported clinical studies.
Click HERE to get the latest Clinical Trials in San Diego.
Gene Van Vleet, Director of the Informed Prostate Cancer Support Group has written an excellent atricle outlining the reason to belong to a support group.
Your support and contributions will enable us to continue our mission to empower men to be their own case manager.
