SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015
Write characters Us TOO Flor ence
at free workshop Behind the headlines
A free writing workshop
will be held in the Bromley
Room of the Siuslaw Public
Library on Saturday, Sept. 19,
from 2 to 4 p.m.
This activity-based class
will focus on how to begin a
short story or novel by creat-
ing the character and setting
before discovering the plot.
All are invited to attend and
learn tips for bringing charac-
ters to life, developing the set-
ting, and expanding the story-
line.
This workshop is aimed at
anyone who is working on a
story or novel or would like
strategies to begin.
Barbara Giles, a retired edu-
cator, is presenting the work-
shop. She is the author of “The
Crow’s Nest,” a mystery set on
the Oregon coast.
Giles has taught memoir
writing as well as a variety of
credit writing classes through
Lane Community College. She
also taught four memoir class
series held at the Unitarian
Universalist Fellowship.
Serving as the co-director of
the Oregon Writing Project at
the University of Oregon for
one summer and the California
Writing Project at the
University of California–
Riverside for three summers,
has added to her teaching
repertoire.
Her colleagues in the local
writing group, CC Writers,
will be participating in the
presentation of this workshop.
Although this class is free, it
is limited to 16 participants.
Preregistration is required by
signing up at the library.
Participants are asked to bring
a pen and paper.
B Y B OB H ORNEY
U S TOO F LORENCE FACILITATOR
P ROSTATE CANCER SURVIVOR
September means it is
National Prostate Cancer
Awareness
Month,
as
Proclaimed by the President of
the United States.
It is the one month devoted
to raising awareness of the
most frequently diagnosed
non-skin cancer in American
males today and the second
leading cause of cancer death
in the United States.
Prostate cancer is certainly
worthy of this attention with
an estimated 220,800 men in
the U.S. being diagnosed with
it in 2015, and approximately
27,540 losing their lives to the
disease. The numbers for
Oregon are approximately
3,110 and 420, respectively.
As critical as the national
campaign is, Us TOO Florence
tries to make prostate cancer
awareness a never ending,
month after month campaign
in Florence.
We know from experience
that prostate cancer never
sleeps.
One or more newly diag-
nosed men attend nearly every
meeting with over 170 men
with prostate cancer having
sought information and sup-
port from our group during our
14 year existence.
Unfortunately, more than 30
of those men were diagnosed
too late and have succumbed
to the disease.
We wholeheartedly carry
out the mission of Us TOO
International, which is to pro-
vide hope and improve the
lives of those affected by
prostate cancer through sup-
port, education, advocacy and
awareness.
We want men and their
spouses and loved ones to see
us for the information, person-
al experiences and support we
offer — unconditionally, with
no strings attached.
We are a very welcoming,
supportive and non-judgmen-
tal group, understanding total-
ly that whatever a man decides
to do is the right decision for
him.
For those who reach out to
us by attending an Us TOO
Florence meeting, first there
will be time before the meet-
ing starts to visit with sur-
vivors and their spouses. This
time offers a great chance to
find out how these men
responded to their diagnosis of
prostate cancer, as in “active
surveillance” or “active treat-
ment.”
If the men choose treatment,
find out their chosen course,
why they chose it and the
results. Since these are person-
al choices, there will be differ-
ent treatments chosen, for dif-
ferent reasons and with differ-
ing results. All this for the
same disease: prostate cancer.
Men attending an Us TOO
Florence meeting will not find
anyone telling them what to
do. We survivors share our
experiences, the urologists
share the pros and cons of the
individual’s viable options
(based on his disease stage at
diagnosis) and the individual
then takes all that information
and decides what he wants to
do.
Every man must make that
decision for himself. Every
one of us who has been diag-
3 B
nosed with prostate cancer has
followed the same path of
information gathering leading
to a decision. It is a tough road
to traverse, but it can be made
considerably easier using the
resources of Us TOO Florence.
We stand ready to help.
Now, for the men who have
chosen to forgo the prostate
cancer screening PSA blood
test, Us TOO Florence does
have a recommendation: Get at
least one test to establish a
baseline at age 40 or ASAP
thereafter.
A PSA at that age is very
likely a “true” PSA — that is,
unaffected by conditions relat-
ed to older age. One advantage
of the baseline PSA is that if
problems or symptoms arise
later, there will be a PSA in
your records to measure the
new results against.
Of course, the baseline does
on occasion identify a man
who is already at risk of hav-
ing prostate cancer and needs
to proceed to a biopsy for that
determination — a potentially
life-saving advantage.
Us TOO Florence will be
celebrating Prostate Cancer
Awareness Month with a booth
at the Boardwalk Market in
Old Town each Saturday and
Sunday during September.
Florida folk singer to perform at library
Can’t understand all their
technical mumbo jumbo?
We’ll be nice
and clear.
Florence’s community radio
station KXCR FM 90.7 will
present Florida folk singer and
songwriter Rod MacDonald to
round out its Summer Folk
Series.
MacDonald is scheduled to
perform in the Bromley Room
at the Siuslaw Public Library
on Thursday, Sept. 17, at 7
p.m.
Born
in
Connecticut,
MacDonald rose to promi-
nence in NYC’s Greenwich
Village clubs in the 1980s,
where he co-founded the
Greenwich
Village
Folk
Festival.
With 11 CDs and 150 per-
formances annually throughout
North America and Europe,
MacDonald continues to daz-
Kathleen and Nina’s
Restaurant
Open Daily 6am-3pm
Home style cooking in a friendly
home style dining experience!
We off er a large menu featuring traditional
and house specialty items.
Breakfast and lunch
specials every day!
Homemade Breads • Homemade Pies
Gail Leslie, Au. D.
Sandi Ybarra, Au. D.,
Doctors of Audiology
Call to schedule a consultation.
You’ll find we’re expert listeners.
FLORENCE: 541-997-7617
1525 12th Street, Suite 2
Come in and enjoy breakfast or
lunch with us or order take out.
Call in and we’ll have it
ready for you to pick up!
EUGENE: 541-686-3505 VOICE / TTD
401 East 10th Avenue, Suite 110
Our popular breads and pies
are available for carry out as well.
www.hearingassociates.net
Hearing is believing
2015
Siuslaw News
people’s choice
award winner
for Best Pie on
the Coast!
3611 Highway 101
541-997-7004
zle audiences
with his pas-
sionate singing
and thought-
provoking writ-
ing.
His
songs
have
been
recorded
by
Shawn Colvin,
J o n a t h a n
Edwards, Dave
Van
Ronk,
Happy Traum,
Bok-Trickett-
Muir,
Four
Bitchin’ Babes,
Garnet Rogers
and numerous
other singers.
His
latest
CD, “Later That
Night,” reached Singer Rod
No. 3 nationally Sept. 17, as
on the Roots Series.
Music
Folk
charts in February 2015,
with the song “Raven” at
No.1.
In December 2014, he pub-
lished his first novel, “The
Open Mike,” described by
Jonathan Widran of Music
Connection Magazine as “A
music-driven novel for the
ages and a great extension of
MacDonald’s already prolific
creative output.”
Now living in south Florida,
MacDonald has been named
one of “Ten Greatest South
Florida
Folksingers
Of
COURTESY PHOTO
MacDonald plays Thursday,
part of KXCR’s Summer Folk
All Time” by New Times.
The Sept. 17 concert at the
library has no cover charge,
although attendees will pass
the hat for a collection.
To find out more about
MacDonald, watch “The Last
American Worker” at www.
youtube.com/watch?v=6lc0Pq
KPjws.
For more information about
the concert, call 541-997-2997.
This program is neither
sponsored nor endorsed by the
Siuslaw
Public
Library
District.
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