Event Purpose
This year, Us TOO International turns 20 years old, and the Us TOO Board of Directors has a vision to build on our anniversary with a celebratory symposium to bring prostate cancer awareness and action to the forefront in 2010.

We are all aware of the recent increased controversy in PSA screening, when to initiate prostate cancer treatment and research funding needs. Also very importantly, we can’t forget that men in the baby boom generation are now reaching the “age of increased risk” for prostate cancer, with 70 million boomers now aged 46 to 65. More men than ever are being diagnosed with prostate cancer now, and will continue to be at an increasing rate over these next 20 years. What can we do to help guide and support them?

Here is our chance for the Us TOO network and brotherhood of survivors to take action and get involved! We invite you to our upcoming two-day, patient educational symposium, national advocacy summit, and anniversary celebration event:

“From Passion To Action: Us TOO at 20” – The Us TOO International Summit, Symposium & Celebration for Men and their Families Battling Prostate Cancer

To be held August 20-21, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare (Rosemont, IL) in the Chicagoland area.

Learn and share information for yourself, your family, your community. Reconnect with old friends and meet new ones. Come to honor the men and women who have carried the Us TOO banner forward over the last 20 years, and join with them. Get involved with your brothers and families in the fight against prostate cancer.

Educational Symposium
The educational symposium includes nine sessions over two days, with presentations by Damon Arnold, MD, Director, Illinois Department of Public Health; Michael J. Dattoli, MD; Mark Moyad, MD; John Mulhall, MD; Charles “Snuffy” Myers, MD; Paul Schellhammer, MD; Captain E. Mellissa Kaime, MD, Director of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs; Jonathan McDermed, PharmD, Us TOO HotSheet newsletter co-editor and Director, Scientific & Clinical Affairs at IRIS Diagnostics; and a survivor and his wife, David and Kathie Houchens.

Exhibits
The Friday Exhibits will feature informational displays from vendors, non-profit organizations and a “Meet the Authors” area where attendees can speak with and purchase prostate cancer and prostate health-related publications.

Attendees
Event attendees will include men and their families responding to a prostate cancer diagnosis or recurrence, local Us TOO affiliated chapter support group leaders and other volunteers from around the country, Us TOO International Board members and other leadership, interested medical professionals, supporters and collaborators from the non-profit and for-profit prostate cancer communities, and anyone who has had a special connection to Us TOO International over our last 20 years.

Advocacy Summit
A highlight of the event will be the special, pre-symposium ADVOCACY SUMMIT: Moving Beyond the Confusion About Prostate Cancer Screening and Treatment, to be held on Friday, August 20, 2010 from 10:00 am to 1:30 pm. The summit provides the opportunity for survivors and family members, Us TOO leaders and volunteers, and representatives from the prostate cancer non-profit community to discuss common ground and next steps in the national debate surrounding prostate cancer screening and treatment.

The summit will be facilitated to assure open discussion from panelists and the audience. One expected outcome will be the creation of an Us TOO International position statement on early detection, screening and treatment for prostate cancer – from the patients’ perspective.

The agenda will include a presentation on plans for imaging advancements to improve prostate cancer diagnostic and treatment tools by Faina Shtern, MD, President and CEO, AdMeTech Foundation, an update of NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology for Prostate Cancer by James L. Mohler, MD, of Roswell Park Cancer Institute and chair of the NCCN Guidelines Panel for Prostate Cancer, and other invited presenters from the American Cancer Society and the American Urological Association.

Representatives from other prostate cancer non-profits making up America's Prostate Cancer Organizations will also be invited to participate. Confirmed at this point are representatives from PHEN, ZERO, Men’s Health Network, Prostate Cancer International and NASPCC.

The Friday night 20th Anniversary Celebration & Awards Dinner will provide a platform to recognize the progress Us TOO has seen in the last 20 years, celebrate the contributions of our volunteers, and promote the opportunities Us TOO has in store for the future. Food served will be delicious and prostate-healthy!

A panel discussion of past and present Us TOO International leaders will be featured, including moderator Fred Mills, current Us TOO International Chairman of the Board; past chairmen Edward C. Kaps, Jim Kiefert, and Lew Musgrove; co-founder John DeBoer; and founding physician organizer, Gerald Chodak MD.

All event attendees and dinner guests are asked to bring an item for the Us TOO True Blue Fundraiser Raffle. (And we would love it if the color of the item you bring is blue!) Item suggestions: iPod, pen set, bottle of Blue Nun wine, etc. You may purchase raffle tickets onsite to try to win any of the items that have caught your eye!