September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

African American men are at highest risk so Get It Checked

 By Ana Fadich Tomsic, MPH, CHES, Vice President, Men’s Heath Network

      Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men and will strike approximately 192,000 men this year – and kill more than 33,000 – making it second only to lung cancer as the deadliest cancer in men.

African American men are at especially high risk. Compared to other men, they are 1.7 times more likely to develop prostate cancer, and more than twice as likely to die from the disease.

Caught early, prostate cancer can be treated, usually successfully. Early detection is especially important for African American men, who are more likely to be diagnosed when their cancer is at an advanced stage. The good news is that the earlier the disease is caught, the better the odds of successful treatment—regardless of race.  In other words, All men, regardless of race or ethnicity whose cancer is caught at the same stage, will have identical outcomes.

In early stages, prostate cancer has no symptoms; however, don’t wait for “some-thing bad” to happen to Get It Checked (www.GetItChecked.com).

This is doubly true in this year of COVID-19. Do not let the pandemic deter you from getting an easy, fast screening test. Talk to your healthcare provider to schedule one this month.

For almost 30 years, doc-tors have had a powerful weapon in their arsenal for detecting prostate cancer. Now, doctors have a second test as well. In addition to the digital rectal exam (DRE), a physical exam that allows the doctor to feel the prostate, patients can have a simple blood test called a prostate specific antigen test (PSA) that will detect a majority of prostate problems early. Since the PSA has been used, prostate cancer deaths have declined and the number of successfully treated prostate cancer cases has risen.

September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, and Men’s Health Network (MHN) urges all men to talk to their healthcare providers about prostate cancer. MHN also encourages women to get involved and to urge their husbands, fathers, brothers, sons, and other loved ones to talk to their healthcare provider about prostate screening, including the PSA and DRE tests.

Let others know about the risks of prostate cancer and the potential benefits of screening. Posters, fact sheets, and a social media tool kit, for use year round at your place of worship, where you work, and for your fraternity or sorority, can all be downloaded for free at the www.