The next Prostate Man
Every man is Prostate Man!
After careful consideration by the prostate cancer awareness campaign committee, a decision has been reached: Every man is Prostate Man!
“We received a lot of interest,” says Alison McMullen, Director of Preventive Oncology at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre’s Regional Cancer Care Northwest and member of the committee. “Many qualified men wanted to play the role of Prostate Man for a variety of reasons.”
While some men were prostate cancer survivors, others had friends and family members affected by the disease. Others simply believed in the need to encourage men to be proactive about their prostate health.
“We realized the important work of Prostate Man is beyond one individual’s capacity. Essentially, we’re asking all men over 50 to be advocates for prostate health,” McMullen announced. “As Prostate Man, every man not only reduces his own risk for prostate cancer by talking to his health care provider about his risk for prostate cancer and being active every day, he also encourages others to do the same.”
Jeff Breckenridge won the Superhero Prize Package that encouraged men to visit the Prostate Man recruitment booth and www.prostateman.com over the past four months. He considers himself a Prostate Man. Breckenridge discovered he had prostate cancer through a PSA test.
“If I hadn’t talked to my healthcare provider about prostate health, I may never have taken the test,” Breckenridge says. “Now, I tell my friends to get checked out. It could save their lives like it saved mine.”
Dr. Gordon Porter, Vice President, Medical and Academic Affairs, Health Sciences Centre, agrees. “One in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime, and this is expected to rise to one in four within a decade. But prostate cancer is highly treatable when it’s detected in the early stages. Live a healthy lifestyle and get screened,” he advises.
The prostate cancer campaign, funded by donations to the Northern Cancer Fund of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation, will continue. “Prevention is key to reducing incidences of prostate cancer in our community,” notes Dr. Porter.
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For further information, please contact:
Tracie Smith, Director of Communications
Tel: 807 684 7111 Cell: 807 621 9438
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