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2010 Pituitary Awareness Seminars

The Foundation is now busy hosting our educational days in 2010. The year promises to offer some new regional locations as well as revisiting some of our longstanding partners. The following hospitals have agreed to participate and you can view more information on these below.

  • St . John of God, Bendigo, VIC  -  3rd July

  • Repatriation General Hospital, Adelaide, SA   -  6th November

  • Cairns Base Hospital, Cairns, QLD   - 8th May

  • John Hunter Children's Hospital, NSW   - 27th November

  • Calvary Health, Lenah Valley, Hobart, TAS  -  26th June

  • Freemantle Hospital, WA   - 13th November

Contact us if you are a patient at a country or town hospital which you think could be interested in hosting an educational forum with us next year!

"Pituitary In Bendigo - Unearthing the Facts"

Wow!  Was Bendigo COLD!!  We visited during a cold snap but St. John of God Hospital certainly turned on a warm welcome for us.  We had people travel many miles to attend and were proud to bring this event to the rural areas of Victoria.   The line of topics were great and Deirdre Thorn put on a social get together on conclusion.

"Pituitary in the Tropics"

And, we got the other end of the spectrum - the days up the top end were round 30¤ mark.  Thankfully the airconditoning at Cairns Base Hospital kept attendees comfortable.  For a rather remote area, the turnout was one of the biggest Queensland has experienced.  Check it out...

"Surgical and Medical Management of Pituitary Tumours"

Ah, beautiful Tassie.  Frosts in the mornings meant beanies and gloves.  The days were beautiful once the sun broke through.  The seminar at Calvary Hospital demonstrated the processes that we have to go through when being treated for a pituitary adenoma - from discussions with your neurosurgeon to dynamic testing.  Many health professionals attended which was great. 



What's Been On

News:

Jessica, Backpacker from the UK, was hosted overnight by members in Brisbane recently.  Jessica is on full hormone replacement and has traveled thru Japan, Australia, presently doing New Zealand, then she is off to India! 

Christmas Day was spent at a hostel in Byron Bay where they had a good Aussie BBQ, then Jess enjoyed the fun of Airlie Beach for New Year’s.

Although Jess only stayed in Brisbane overnight, after she explored the city during the day we managed to show her the highlights of Brisbane by night.  The following day we drove up to Maleny (in the hills) and the Sunshine Coast to show off beautiful Queensland.

Jess tells us that she was instrumental in setting up the "Teens & Twenties" group for the UK Pituitary Foundation, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could do that here in Australia.  Can you help us?
We wish Jess all the best in her travels - what an inspirational young woman!
 

Checking out the Cookoo Shop at Maleny                   At Mt. Cootha Lookout, Brisbane              

 



2009 Pituitary Awareness Seminars

The APF's program of Pituitary Awareness Seminars for 2009 came to a close with two separate events on Saturday 21st November.  This brought to six the number of States that hosted events during the year.  For photos and descriptions of each seminar please visit the Support page of each respective State under the Support section of the site.

 

"Hormone Replacements & Suppressants"

The seminar at Concord Hospital NSW took place on the 21st November and attracted a strong turnout.  Three speakers covered a range of topics relating to hormone replacements and suppressants.  In particular the presentation on menopause was much appreciated.

It was the first event to be hosted by our new NSW state coordinator, Daniel Blomfield.  To view the flyer for this event please click here.

"Pituitary Across the Strait"

The APF's inaugural seminar at Royal Hobart Hospital Hobart on the 21st November attracted a great turnout of patients, carers and health professionals.  Eight health professionals spoke on a variety of topics relating to adult and paediatric pituitary conditions and their treatments.  To add a personal persepective, four APF members also spoke about their own experiences.

To view the flyer for this event please click here.

"Mastering the Master Gland"

The educational morning at St. Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne had a full house. This seminar covered more of the intricacies of the management of pituitary disease, disorders and their effects for adults and children and was very well received.  The four speakers allowed a generous time for questions and answers which flowed easily and could have gone on all afternoon if time allowed.

To view the flyer for this event please click here.

"Pituitary in the West"

Perth certainly turned on the beautiful weather for the seminar held at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital on Saturday 26 September 2009. The seminar sought to provide information, resources, and support to those suffering from pituitary illnesses and disorders, their families and friends – as well as the interested public.

We had a good turn out overall and reports from the day have indicated that everyone enjoyed the range of topics and were able to take something away from the presentations.   To view the flyer for this event please click here.

"Pituitary by the Sea"

The Oaks Plaza Pier Hotel at Glenelg once again provided a comfortable venue for our seminar in SA on 23rd August.  Local attendance was good along with some members who travelled from interstate.  The program was varied and covered topics of interest to both adult members and parents of paediatric patients. 

The Foundation took the opportunity of having so many members of the committee and state coordinators present to hold an all day training workshop. A report on the workshop can be found further down this page. 

To view the flyer for this event please click here.

"Pituitary and Hormones in Adults"

The Mater Private Hospital in Brisbane was the venue for our  seminar on 8th May.  You may be interested to know that the day was registered for GP’s to receive accreditation points towards their professional development.  GP’s are usually the first port of call when a person reaches for assistance with symptoms.  Improving their understanding of pituitary conditions should help to accelerate a proper diagnosis and of course your GP also plays an important role in your continuing care.

It was a great turnout with a variety of people attending - pituitary patients, family members and friends, GP's, Nurses and Physiotherapists.    To view the flyer for this event please click here.

Supported by an educational grant from Novartis



APF Workshop, Glenelg 22nd August 2009

14 state reps, directors and volunteers of the APF met on a freezing day in Adelaide to review some of the issues relating to telephone counselling and how to look after ourselves as both patients and carers.

The day also included information on the do’s and don’ts regarding peer support, legal and privacy matters.

The session got off to an interesting start with all of us introducing ourselves and giving every one a short history of our illness and diagnoses.  What an exciting time it was for all key personnel to have the opportunity to meet the face behind the voice on the phone.

The day was ably guided by Lorraine Lane, B Ed, M Ed Lead, Grad Dip (RE), Grad Cert Spec Ed, Grad Dip Couns who is a specialist in this area.

For me the most important take home message was that although we are all dedicated to the cause, we only have limited time and energy.  We need to protect this asset.  Sometimes this means being a little selfish, and tell ourselves that it is all right to rest and have some me time.  We all live such busy lives, with family, work and surviving our illness that we forget about ourselves.

If we are totally exhausted all the time we cannot assist any of our fellows, or our families.

There are a number of main points raised with regards to telephone counselling:

  • Listen, listen and then listen again. Try to remove yourself and your issues and hear what the other person is saying.  Each person’s story is unique.
  • Don’t give advice.  You can only speak from your experience.  I did “X” and it helped me greatly. Why don’t you discuss this with your GP or specialist?
  • I have trial led the following drugs for the following reasons.  They are available, but you need to discuss any prescribing with your doctors.
  • We are not a referral service.   Each and every doctor has a different approach.  You as the patient have a right to ask questions, and if you don’t get answers, you can ask to be referred on.  We are entering into a long-term partnership with our doctor and we need to be on the same wavelength.
  • Suggest that the person joins, and then comes to various APF functions.  One of the many ways we can help people is by encouraging them to talk to other people who have the same health problems.

Workshop 2.jpgAs always the best part of the workshop training experience was the ability to catch up with people who I have not seen for some time, and also to meet new people.  I had the pleasure of meeting our new directors and state coordinators including volunteer Barbara Elliott, database and website assistant – neither Barbara nor her family have been affected by pituitary disease however Barbara is very pro-active in volunteering and working with the Foundation and in fact has been with us for over 4 years now.  It was also great to meet Kathryn Skelsey again, long term member and previous Director - Kathryn will be very involved with support when our new member’s log in to the website is released.

Our illness often leaves us without the desire to go out.  Being social and active, and keeping a positive approach is the best thing you can do for yourself.  Keep your chin up, and we will see you at the next meeting.

Jack Kagan, long term member, past Victoria assistant and adult Growth Hormone advocate



Volunteering

The day to day running of the Foundation is achieved through the dedication of volunteers who are themsleves often also pituitary patients.  There are no paid employees of the Foundation and all the State Co-ordinators and other office holders give generously of their time to ensure the Foundation can offer a high quality service.

While we advertise for key positions, such as a State Co-ordinator or Newsletter Editor from time to time, there is also an ongoing need for administrative support in most parts of the country.  Please review the Support pages for your State to see what particular skills may be required.  Or drop a line to your State Co-ordinator if you can only spare a few hours here and there to assist with arranging a local event or mail-out.

Enjoy the satisfaction of connecting with others in a similar position, as well as

  • developing new skills and/or enhancing exsiting ones
  • enjoying a variety of work and life experiences
  • being part of creating change in an important area, and 
  • having satisfaction in knowing you are helping other people who are also going through a life changing experience. 

If this is something that you or someone you know would like to be part of, please contact your State Co-ordinator or the APF on 07 3376 2083 or email the support team to find out more.



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