Prostate cancer is the single most common kind of cancer found in men. It accounts for 27% of new cases in Canada. In total 1 in 7 men in Canada will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, with the risks even greater for those with a family history of the disease. 25,500 Canadian men will be diagnosed in this year alone! Thankfully, it is curable, as 90% of patients recover as long as the cancer is detected and treated in the earliest stages, while it is confined to the prostate. As such, testing and awareness among men becomes incredibly important.
To help raise awareness, money for research, and increase the number of men who get tested – the “Movember” campaign was started. People across Canada pledge to grow mustaches for the month of November and collect donations. This years campaign has just completed! Canadians raised an astounding $33.6 million dollars for prostate cancer in Canada, 33% above last year’s total of $22.3 million! Participation and awareness of this campaign has also increased substantially, with increased media coverage and 246,060 Canadians participating (up 127,000 from the previous year’s 119,000) Funds raised go to research and survivorship programs driven by Prostate Cancer Canada.
However, men’s health challenges don’t stop when the prostate cancer is defeated. For many, treatment and recovery can bring on new struggles. One such struggle is stress incontinence. After prostatectomy, radiation therapy or cryotherapy for prostate cancer, some degree of incontinence is likely to occur. Incontinence is a condition where the urinary sphincter is not functioning properly – resulting in an inconvenient, unexpected and potentially embarrassing leakage of urine from the bladder. Often this leakage is triggered by stress like laughing, coughing, sneezing or physical activity. While non-life threatening, it can last for years and may even get worse over time – significantly impacting a man’s quality of life, self reliance and confidence.
To help men from across British Columbia who have combated prostate cancer to regain their health, and their control over their own body, False Creek Healthcare Centre is pleased to be offering a new procedure for those that suffer from male incontinence. The Advance male sling is an outpatient surgery that is being offered by renowned board-certified urologist Dr. Daniel Rapoport through the False Creek Healthcare Centre.
The AMS Advance male sling procedure is an effective and simple way for men with stress urinary incontinence to regain control of their life and their dignity. This male sling is a minimally invasive, outpatient procedure that provides support to the urinary sphincter when abdominal pressure increases occur, preventing the urine loss. It is performed with either spinal anesthesia or general anesthesia and takes about 45 – 75 minutes to complete. Patents can often go home just a few hours after surgery.
Dr. Rapoport will be offering information sessions on the sling procedure so that you can find out if it is right for you or a loved one. Sessions are available on the following day: February 9th, 2012
Call one of our Patient Advisors now at 1.800.815.9338 to register for a session or to learn more about a procedure or even to book an appointment. You can also find more information at the Advance Male Sling page on our website.



On Sunday October 2nd 2011, False Creek Healthcare Centre participated in the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation annual 5K Walk/Run for the Cure. It was a beautiful sunny day and the crowd of runners and walkers was massive – it was really encouraging to see so many Canadians out enjoying the fresh air and doing their best to raise money to fight disease. Every dollar raised supports life-saving research and life-changing programs, bringing us one step closer to a future without breast cancer. Our team had a lot of fun together with quite a few walkers and several runners participating.
Injury PreventionThe best thing to do, of course, is to avoid injury in the first place. We can improve our odds in certain sports by using proper techniques, stretching, doing warm ups and cool downs, paying attention to our surroundings when playing and wearing properly fitted protective equipment. Possibly the most important advice is to avoid playing while injured. An injury, even a minor one like a sprain, can become aggravated and lead to a much more serious problem. If it hurts – stop playing. Some sports like golf and tennis can be very hard on the body because of their overuse of particular muscle groups that aren’t made to take such strenuous activity – make sure to rest and not overdo these sports.
In June 25-26, 2011 False Creek Healthcare Centre in Vancouver B.C. hosted the SMIG Advanced Training Program for Laparoscopic Hysterectomy. In attendance were Course Directors, Dr. Catherine Allaire (BC) and Dr. Sukhbir Song Singh (ON). During the two-day course, Dr. Allaire sat down to answer a few questions about SMIG and the Training Program.



False Creek Healthcare in the News CBC
False Creek Healthcare Centre was recently mentioned in a CBC news story on wait times in Canada. The story was on a report issued by The Fraser Institute which had found that despite funding increases, average wait times in Canada were still increasing year over year as Canada’s public Healthcare system struggles with an aging population. CBC spoke with False Creek Healthcare Centre’s Dr. Mark Godley, about how False Creek was helping patients get access to treatment and diagnosis faster, and without the wait.
See the full video below. Or watch it on youtube.