Advance prostate cancer medication
Progressing pre-clinical work to improve the performance of common prostate cancer medication Zytiga, to speed up the drug’s digestion and enhance absorption in the body
Cancer doesn’t discriminate
Paul Flynn, CEO of Australian Prostate Cancer, was first diagnosed with prostate cancer two years ago when he visited his GP to check what he thought was a bladder infection.
“I was referred to a urologist who suggested Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) due to my family history of prostate cancer,” says Paul.
“The MRI eventually showed a tiny spot in my prostate gland. That spot was cancer.”
Paul decided to monitor it on the advice of his specialists, but 15 months later another life-changing MRI showed the cancer had developed and required immediate treatment.
Research saves lives
With various treatment options available to Paul, he decided to undergo Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) at The Royal Adelaide Hospital.
SBRT is a form of extreme hypofractionation where the entire course is completed in about five fractions over a week. Each session takes 15-60 minutes, depending on the technology used.
SBRT builds on technological advances in image guidance, with robust quality assurance in place thanks to research.
It’s thanks to APC’s dedicated supporters that technological advancements like this are possible. Can we count on you to give a gift to support research projects and advancements that will save lives from prostate cancer?
Hope for the future
Cancer does not discriminate – it can affect people who are young or old, rich or poor; with high levels of health literacy or low.
“There have been times when I felt that it would be very easy to let that impending sense of doom overtake me because of my diagnosis and the people in my life who have died from cancer,” says Paul.
“But with my treatment now successfully completed, I know there is hope for people like me diagnosed with prostate cancer undertaking their own journey.”
Help bring hope to the thousands of Aussies diagnosed with prostate cancer each year and together, we can make sure no family has to endure the heartbreak of cancer again.
Help advance prostate cancer research
Thanks to the generosity and commitment of Australian Prostate Cancer supporters, our researchers are able to prevent the deadly spread of cancer by improving the detection, treatment and management of prostate cancer. But there’s still more work to be done to stop this disease from impacting men and their families.
Here are six of the advancements our supporters are personally responsible for:
Understand resistant cancer cells
Exploring how prostate cancer cells become resistant to existing therapies, with insights being used to identify biomarkers for patients who may respond best to a promising drug called Ribociclib
Identify high-risk patients
Progressing work to improve the early detection of patients whose cancer is likely to spread to advanced stages by establishing biomarkers that can distinguish high-risk patients
Trial new treatment methods
Testing a new class of drugs called CDK9 inhibitors in the hope they show promise in stopping prostate cancer from spreading
Establish a treatment report card
Developing a unique prostate cancer ‘report card’ which outlines the outcomes of various treatments to help patients make informed treatment choices upon diagnosis
Support the SA-PCCOC database
Supporting the South Australian Prostate Cancer Clinical Outcomes Collaborative (SA-PCCOC) database, which now holds data for more than 18,000 men to assist research insights and inform best approaches to care
