PCCN-Toronto

PCCN-Toronto is a group of prostate cancer survivors (which includes partners) who volunteer to provide support to men, from the newly diagnosed to long-term survivors, and their partners and families.  We do this through:

• Meetings – Peer Support Meetings for men, Side by Side Meetings for women, and Awareness Nights with medical and other health professionals including a Q&A.
• Visitations – We volunteer in the prostate cancer clinics at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Sunnybrook’s Odette Cancer Centre and Branson hospital’s Graham and Gale Wright clinic, and visit patients in those hospitals post-surgery.
• Hot Line – A volunteer will talk to you by telephone or in your home.  Call (416) 932-8820, leave a detailed message, and a volunteer will get back to you.
• Awareness – We promote awareness at various special events.
• Father’s Day Walk/Run – While we are not a fund raising group, we do raise some funds by getting sponsors for this event.
• Speaker’s Bureau – We will talk to your group about prostate cancer.

A Brief History Since 1994, The Toronto Man to Man Prostate Cancer Support Group has helped thousands of men and their families on their personal prostate cancer journeys. In July of 2009, we joined Prostate Cancer Canada (PCC), the only national foundation dedicated to the elimination of this disease, and the Prostate Cancer Canada Network (PCCN) of support groups, which is a division of PCC. As a result, we  changed our name to Prostate Cancer Canada Network–Toronto (PCCN-Toronto).  We are confident that, as PCCN reaches out to men across Canada, we will be able to connect with more men in the Greater Toronto Area than ever before. Every group affiliated with the PCCN is independent and acts autonomously.  We are governed  by a Board of Directors, who are chosen from among our members.  We are a non-profit organization and are funded by PCC through a percentage of the funds we raise during the Father’s Day Walk/Run and by our generous sponsors.   Read our Privacy Policy.

See this page for more general information about prostate cancer support groups.

 About Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among Canadian men (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer).  Yearly:

• An estimated 25,500 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and 4,400 will die of it.  One in 7 will develop prostate cancer during his lifetime (the risk is highest after age 60) and one in 27 will die of it.
• On average, 490 Canadian men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer every week.
• On average, 85 Canadian men will die of prostate cancer every week.

Trends in prostate cancer There has been an overall upward trend in the incidence rate of prostate cancer since 1980, which is likely due to increased early detection or possible changes in risk factors. Death rates rose much more slowly during the same period and started to decline in the mid 1990s, which is likely due to earlier detection and better treatments.