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"SAFE-AT-HOME" AT 2004 SSUSA WESTERN NATIONALS The "SAFE-AT-HOME" Action Team will be attending the 2004 SSUSA Senior Western National Championships July 23-24 in South Seattle (Kent & Tukwila) |
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Members List:
Helpful Links
Team Mgr:
Frank Agnello, National Project Coordinator
Asst. Mgr.:
Doug Dammeier, National Project Administrator
Asst. Managers:
Dennis Kneeshaw
Joe Jimenez
Biz Mgr.:
Don Bedlington
Members:
Ted Buzbee
Rick Dougherty
Carlos Felan
Paul Grudis
Gary Ikeda
Dale Knuth
Keith Partlow
Ken Peitraniec
Bill Randall
Marty Raphael
Mike Rollinger
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This Game is The "Game Of Life!"
...and you have to know-and play by-the RULES.
#1. Prostate cancer kills.
#2. The only known "cure" is Early Detection and Treatment.
#3. Know Your "Score"-Your PSA. It can save your LIFE!
#4. Prevention is achieved through Diet, Exercise, and a Positive Life Style.
#5. Education. "Those Who Know The Most, Do The Best!"
How to Play and Win:
FIRST BASE: Get screened. Use the contact info and phone numbers provided. Have a baseline exam and get blood drawn by a doctor's staff. Attend education sessions. Increase your knowledge via Internet sites.
SECOND BASE: Return for personal meeting with doctor. Learn your PSA blood test and/or DRE physical exam findings.
THIRD BASE: Gather more diagnostic information. Understand your doctor's findings and your individual prostate health treatment plan.
SAFE AT HOME PLATE: Launch full-scale prevention and protection actions. Diet as if your life depends on it...it does! Attend workshops on what to eat, preparations, samples. Rely on your support group: your team mates. .....Frank Agnello, "SAFE-AT-HOME" National Project Coordinator .....special thanks to Jim Kiefert, Treasurer, Us TOO International, for "rules" contributions.
Our team plays a double header once a week in a senior league here in Olympia, and more importantly, we travel throughout Western Washington playing in senior tournaments a couple weekends per month. We'll play 70+ games this season. With our tournament play, along with a special invitation from Terry Hennessy, CEO of SSUSA to have "SAFE-AT-HOME" attend the Western National Championships in Seattle in July, we will come in contact with 5,000-7,000 senior men over the age of 50. Our goal this year is to shake hands with 10,000-15,000 senior players this season alone by attending other national tournaments.
The local cancer awareness groups do offer a discounted screening in our area, in September. But Frank and I thought we could reach more over-50 men with a personal "shake hands" approach based on all these players love of senior softball.
We will reach a tremendous amount of over 50 men this season just by handing out brochures, with educational information, and offering a free, or deeply discounted, prostrate cancer screening. Frank and I are committed to making this "direct personal contact" program work. At the very least, our efforts will have an impact on raising the awareness of how important it is to be screened for early detection of this killer disease. 200,000 senior men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year. Over 32,000 of us will die this year alone. That is unacceptable. With early detection and treatment most men will live long and productive lives. And our goal is to "duplicate" this program all over the country. Over 1.5 MILLION senior men are playing organized softball in the USA. That represents a huge amount of lives that can be saved.
Every local, regional, and national prostate cancer awareness group that we have contacted, as well as the medical community, has really liked out innovative approach, and we are receiving outstanding support. Our partners now include the Washington State Prostate Cancer Coalition, the National Prostate Cancer Coalition, Us TOO International Prostate Cancer Education & Support, the Washington State Urology Society, American Urological Association, and Senior Softball USA (SSUSA). Our website is now linked with senior softball in Nebraska, Georgia, Illinois, Florida, and Arizona, with more being added each week. Through these links we will raise prostate cancer awareness to tens of thousands of senior players. If you would like our link on your website, and save lives in your area, please email us. It must be noted that Paul Sanders, Chair of the Washington State Prostate Cancer Coalition, and Jim Kiefert, Treasurer, Us TOO International Prostate Cancer Education & Support Group, have been instrumental in helping us develop this program. Terry Hennessy, CEO of Senior Softball USA (SSUSA) is also working with us to have "SAFE-AT-HOME" attend National tournaments and get our message to as many senior players as possible. With all of us working together we WILL SAVE LIVES!
As one of our tools, we are developing a team scorecard to give to managers, and when a player gets screened the team scores "runs." Even if every team member is screened the team can score more "runs" by having friends and relatives tested. Team names and scores will be posted on this website. And every player that gets this screening will have his name posted on our "ALL STAR TEAM." It is important for players to encourage each other to get tested. Instead of going in for an "isolated" test by themselves, we encourage players to go together as a small group and rely on each other the same way they do on the playing field.
"SAFE-AT-HOME" is also developing a program that will offer all senior softball players the opportunity to attend CPR and First Aid certification training. We feel this training is important in the event one of our team members has a problem or injury on the playing field. If no players on your team are currently certified in CPR/First Aid, why not have each team member pitch in and designate one player to get certified. He could save your life, or the life of an opponent, on the playing field.
Message to all senior softball players: What if you were to save the life of just one player on your team, or in your league? Would that player, his wife, his kids, and his grandchildren be glad that he got screened thru "SAFE-AT-HOME?"
Message to all potential corporate/organization sponsors: Wouldn't your business or association truly benefit by being affiliated with an organization whose only purpose is to save lives through screening and early diagnosis of prostate cancer? We are not geared to helping men who are already dealing with prostate cancer. There are many organizations available for that purpose. Our mission is to get men diagnosed EARLY and save their lives. We can do this together thru senior softball. We would love to have your business or organization listed on our SPONSORS PAGE. Please contact us.
Again, our long-term goal is to help other prostate cancer awareness groups and senior softball organizations and teams set up "duplicate" programs in other states. How many at-risk men could we reach with this program operating all over the country?
Anyone interested in helping to save lives in their area, please scroll down to the lower part of this page for more information. .....Doug Dammeier, National Project Administrator
For the second straight year, the Western Nationals will be played in Seattle, the Emerald City.
This year, teams will be playing at the pristine four-field Russell Road Softball Complex in Kent and the modern four-field Fort Dent Softball Complex in Tukwila.
"SAFE-AT-HOME" Senior Softball Saving Lives! will be attending this tournament to help educate senior players about the importance of being screened for prostate cancer.
Over 2,000 senior player from all over the Western United States will participate.
The men's 50, 55, and 60 and the women's divisions play July 23-25, while the men's 65 and 70 divisions play July 26-27.
WHAT IS THE PROSTATE? The prostate is a male sex gland, part of a man's reproductive system. The prostate is aboaut the size of a walnut. It is located below the bladder and in front of the rectum.
WHAT IS PROSTATE CANCER? Except for skin cancer, cancer of the prostate is the most common malignancy in American men. In the majority of men with prostate cancer, it is very slow growing, and many, if not most, of these men will not die because of the prostate cancer, but rather will live with it until they eventually die of some other cause. Early prostate cancer is localized (confined) to the gland, and the majority of patients with prostate cancer have a long survival after diagnosis.
WHO IS AT RISK FOR PROSTATE CANCER?All men are at risk. The most common risk factor is AGE. More than 75% of men diagnosed with prostate cancer each year are over the age of 65. African American men have a higher risk of prostate cancer than white Americans. Dramatic differences in the incidence of prostate cancer are seen in different countries, and there is some evidence that a diet higher in animal fat may, in part, underlie these differences in risk. Genetic factors also appear to play a role, particularly for families in whom the diagnosis is made in men under 60 years of age. The risk of prostate cancer rises with the number of close relatives who have had the disease.
.....source:National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
Attention! Senior Softball Teams/Organizations/Prostate Cancer Awareness Groups
"SAFE-AT-HOME" Senior Softball Saving Lives, would like to help you organize prostate cancer screening for senior softball players in your area. We are developing a "system" that can be duplicated in all states, and we would be happy to help you get a similar program up and running in your area. There are over 1.5 million of us senior players in the U.S. Can you imagine how many lives we could save if we had this program active in all states? The numbers are mind-boggling! We are only active at this time in Western Washington, but just think of the possibilities that lie ahead. If only 20% of us senior players had a screening done because of this "direct contact" program, that would amount to 300,000 men! We could possibly save thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of lives. Amazing! And how many senior men could we reach "directly" if we expanded our efforts from senior softball to ALL senior sports? Think about it. For more information please email Frank or Doug.
