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The Inspirational Colin Wackett: Orillia’s champ in the fight against prostate cancer

4/14/2017

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When Colin Wackett opened his door on the very last day of 2016, he got the surprise of his year. 

There was his friend, Frank, who he was expecting, and a reporter from the Orillia Packet and Times, who he was not. They handed him the paper, hot off the press. On the front page was a large picture of Colin, smiling and waving at the Huronia Ride for Dad in June. Above it was the headline: Citizen of the Year.

Colin was stunned by the honour, but ask anyone in Orillia’s prostate cancer community and they’ll tell you it was a long time in coming. For almost 20 years, the 81-year-old has been a dynamic crusader for prostate cancer awareness, support and research for a cure. He was also an early supporter of the SABR Trial, urging Ride For Dad to become a funding partner so that Canadian men could have access to the innovative treatment. 

“It’s startling how things have changed. When I got diagnosed in 1999, surgery was fairly well the only treatment option that would be discussed,” says Colin. “If someone had said to me that you don’t need surgery, they’ll insert little pellets directly into the prostate with radiation in them, and they’ll target where the tumours are, and that has a 96% cure rate, I would have laughed. How would that be possible?”

While Colin credits the ingenuity of investigators like Dr. Andrew Loblaw and research funding from groups like Ride For Dad, he himself has been part of that wave of change. Recognizing that stigma was putting men’s lives at risk, Colin began a prostate cancer awareness group almost 15 years ago. In the early days, around 30 men and their wives might attend. As Colin invited noted researchers and doctors to present, the numbers began to rise. Now, up to 100 people regularly come out to the meetings. 

For the last 13 years, Colin has also been helping to organize and promote the Huronia Ride For Dad. More than $1 million has been collectively raised over the years.  

“I used to ride a motorcycle but not anymore,” he says. “With my problems and at my age, you don’t ride a motorcycle. My wife doesn’t even like me driving a car!” 

Colin is going into his 18th year of living with prostate cancer. Though he has seen many advances, he wants research to figure out how to prevent prostate cancer altogether. “For those who are now getting prostate cancer, I am comfortable that there are many options for treatments that will cure them. But I want to see research go way beyond that. I’d like to see it not even existing.” 

As for his becoming Citizen of the Year, Colin is still getting used to the attention. The week before learning of the honour, his younger brother, who had also battled prostate cancer, passed away. “It’s always pretty stunning when your younger brother goes. I was dealing with that when people were congratulating me on the Citizen of the Year award. I guess surreal is the word,” he says. His daughter in Toronto sent congratulations by way of three big boxes of sugary treats from the famous Mariposa Market. At the time of this interview, Colin was down to his final pie. 

“I’m lucky. I am in my eighties and I’m still active,” he says. “I remember my oncologist asking me directly, ‘What do you expect from treatment?’ and I said, ‘Normal life expectancy for a male.’ She said, ‘What is that?’ I said, ‘82 years.’ 

“I will be 82 in a month and a half.”
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Huronia Ride For Dad Saddles up for SABR

6/1/2016

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Glorious day to Ride For Dad Huronia

Co-Captain Colin Wackett (centre) with Dr. William Chu (left), Canadian lead for the SABR Prostate Trial and Dr. Andrew Loblaw (right), Chair of the Prostate Cure Foundation.
This last weekend (May 28) on the lakefront of Orillia, there were riders as far as the eye could see. Supporters from Orillia and surrounding communities came out in droves on a gorgeous Saturday morning for what may likely be the largest turnout in the Huronia Ride For Dad’s 12-year ride history.
 
The SABR Prostate Trial (internationally called PACE– Prostate Advances in Comparative Effectiveness) was the rally call to the crowd by Colin Wackett, long-time Co-Captain of the Huronia Telus Ride For Dad.  SABR stands for Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy, a more precise external beam radiation technique that takes advantage of the “Achilles Heel” for prostate cancer.  SABR is even more convenient and appears to be more effective than standard external beam radiation (Loblaw A et al, 2014).  Patients only need five non-invasive treatments, compared to the usual 20-39 treatment course.  SABR also appears to have better quality of life and is cheaper than other standard radiation treatments including low dose rate (LDR) brachytherapy and standard external beam radiation (Helou J et al, 2016).


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When it comes to external beam radiation sessions, less can be more

4/19/2016

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By Dr. Andrew Loblaw, Chair, PCF

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There’s been another change in the way men with prostate cancer are treated.  Options have always included prostatectomy, brachytherapy or external beam radiation but recently Dr Dearneley and others from the UK have presented data showing that 20 external beam treatments (over 4 weeks) are just as effective and have the same side effects as 37 treatments (over 7.5 weeks). 
 
This was based on a large randomized controlled trial of 3216 patients (1/3 received 37 treatments, 1/3 received 20 treatments and 1/3 received 19 treatments) who were followed on average for 5.2 years.  This confirms the concept that for prostate cancer high dose per day of radiation is more effective than standard doses now makes 7-8 week courses of radiation a thing of the past!  We’ve found prostate cancer’s “Achilles Heel”.


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Can't have brachytherapy? SABR may be the solution.

3/12/2016

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By Dr. Andrew Loblaw, Chair, PCF
 
Based on a consensus agreement of Canadian prostate radiation specialists, “seed” brachytherapy (or internal radiation) should be offered to patients with intermediate and high-risk prostate cancer. Brachytherapy is a highly effective, outpatient, minimally invasive procedure that can be given as a stand-alone treatment or in combination with external beam radiation (Morris J et al, 2013; Morris J et al, 2015; Smith GD et al, 2015).
 
Not all men are candidates for brachytherapy, due to pre-existing medical conditions, enlarged prostates, and/or poor urinary function. Stereotactic Ablative Body Radiotherapy (SABR) is a non-invasive pinpoint radiotherapy technique that appears to be as effective as brachytherapy (Loblaw A et al, 2014) but with better quality of life (Helou J et al 2015). SABR can also be given to many men who can’t have brachytherapy.

SABR is more precise, more convenient and appears to be more effective than standard external beam radiation (Loblaw A et al, 2014). Patients only need five high-precision, non-invasive treatments, compared to the usual 20-39 treatment course.
 
An international clinical trial called PACE (Prostate Advances in Comparative Evidence) opened on February 16, 2016 at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Dr. William Chu is the Canadian Lead for the study. Patients will be randomly assigned to standard radiation or SABR. Already, two patients have been recruited to the study and six more are lined up.
 
The PACE trial is taking place at 12 cancer centres across Canada. Other centres include: Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Calgary; Juravinski Cancer Centre, Hamilton; London Regional Cancer Centre, London; Jewish General, Rosemount  and Central Sud Hospitals, Montreal; Ottawa Regional Cancer Centre, Ottawa; Northeast Cancer Centre, Sudbury; Odette Cancer Centre and Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto; Windsor Regional Cancer Centre, Windsor; and CancerCare Manitoba, Winnipeg.
 
The Prostate Cure Foundation and Ride For Dad are co-sponsoring the trial in Canada, helped by generous donations from Astellas, Janssen and Astra Zeneca.
 
Men with favorable-risk prostate cancer who are interested in participating in the SABR Prostate Cancer Trial should contact their oncologist to see if they might qualify for the trial. 

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