THIS WEEK AT ROTARY - TUESDAY 31 OCTOBER 2023
President Kim welcomed visitors and guests to tonight's meeting.
- Another great night at Bingo last night. 132 players & a profit of $2,650. Both of the $1,000 special prizes went off during the night.
- Bunnings BBQ - We have been allocated two Saturday BBQ's on 26 Nov, and 23 Dec. These will be "big" so we will need about 12 people each day, to start at about 9.00 and finish at about 4.30pm - 5.00pm. Put the dates in your diary now.
- The Interact club have made 50 pencil cases, containing pencils, pens, markers, rulers etc. These are being sent to the Philippines orphanage that the club has been supporting.
- Last Wednesdays Men's Health Forum was a big success. We had four very good speakers, who spoke on Strokes, Heart Attacks, and being kind. We are looking to run another one next year.
- The Community Grants close tonight, and the committee will be assessing the 18 applications. In the next week or so, we will be announcing the 5 successful applicants, who will be eligible for a grant of up to $3,000.
Guest Speaker One - Edward Prevot
PP Michael Redding introduced our scholarship awardee from Gordon TAFE, Edward Prevot.
Edward was born in Melbourne to Sri Lankan parents. He attended Westborne Grammer and was accepted to Melbourne University to study for a degree in criminology. After completing the first years of his studies, he realised that a career in criminal law was not what he was looking for, and he enrolled at Gordon TAFE in a social sciences course in criminology.
He is currently completing his work placement at the Werribee Community Justice Centre, where he gets to work with youth offenders, and assist them to stay out of the justice system.
Edwards course finishes at the end of the year, when he will graduate and move into the permanent workforce. Werribee Rotary made a good choice to support this young man with a scholarship.
Guest Speaker Two - Professor Vasso
Professor Vasso gave us another wonderful talk about "What Is Cancer". She has the wonderful ability of keeping complicated subjects simple, so they are easily understood.
Thanks to Prof Vasso and thousands of other researchers around the world, cancer is no longer a death sentence.
- In the 1900's the cure rate was 0%.
- By the 1940's about 25% of cancers could be cured.
- By 2000, just over 2/3rds of cancers are curable.
- The current estimates are that by 2030, over 80% will be curable.
The key to surviving most cancers is early detection & treatment. The quicker it is treated, the greater the chance of a complete cure.
The body is made up of millions of cells or building blocks. The human body is constantly producing new cells, which work together. Cancer begins when some cells become abnormal, and start to 'grow out of control'. Researchers have found that between one & ten events or mutations are needed to produce a cancer. Breast cancer requires about 4 mutations, Brain & Lung around 6 mutations, and Bowel cancer up to 10 mutations. eg: for lung cancer, exposure to something like asbestos, or melanoma exposure to the sun.
Poor diet and cigarette smoking is the cause of more than 2/3rds of cancers.
So the message from Prof Vasso is:
- Never ignore the screening programs such as breastscreen, and bowel kits.
- Never ignore anything abnormal with your health - if something is not right get it checked.
- Remember - most cancers are curable if treatment occurs at an early stage. The longer you take to see your doctor and commence treatment, the poorer the outcome will be.
The next speaker from Prof Vasso's team will be speaking on Cardio Vascular Disease.
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