It’s Minority Health Month: Men Get Tested for Prostate Cancer

National Minority Health Month April is National Minority Health Month presented by the Office of Minority Health.  This year they celebrate 30 Years of Advancing Health Equity. This office addresses disease prevention, health promotion, risk reduction, healthier lifestyle choices, use of health care services and barriers to health care for racial and ethnic minorities. This month we would like to bring more awareness to African American men and prostate cancer.  1 out of 6 American men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year.  For African American men, it is 1 in every 4. More than 230,000 men are diagnosed with this disease and more than 29,000 will die as a result. Prostate cancer is the second most prevalent form of cancer after melanoma. African American men are more likely to develop prostate cancer than Caucasian men. They are also almost 2.5 times as likely to die from this cancer. Scientists cannot explain why prostate cancer occurrence and death rates are higher among African American men. Although, it is widely believed that a combination of genetic differences, lifestyle and nutrition habits, and medical care are factors. Below are some ways to help decrease your chance of getting prostate cancer. Exercise Maintain a healthy diet Know […] read more

Follow Up Ultra Sounds Can Help in Breast Cancer Detection

Connecticut was the first state to enact groundbreaking legislation mandating that patients undergoing mammography be educated about their breast density with the option to have a follow-up ultrasound. Jean M. Weigert, head of breast imaging for the Hospital of Central Connecticut, performed a chart review to see how well this process worked in detecting cancers in women with dense breasts during the first four years of its implementation. Jean provided a report to the 2014 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium regarding her study. She found that this supplemental ultrasound screening of dense breasts did in fact detect a noteworthy number of breast cancers undiscovered by a mammogram. Since the initial legislation in 2009 breast density reporting laws have become in effect in 21 states with several other bills being introduced this year. The “Breast Density and Mammography Reporting Act of 2015” is still pending in the House of Representatives and the Senate. You can read more details of the study in this recent article. The American Cancer Society recommends that women have an annual mammogram beginning at age 40, and a Clinical Breast Exam (CBE) every three years for women in their 20′s and 30′s, and annual beginning at 40. […] read more

Prostate Cancer Awareness – A Missed Opportunity

Why do so Many of Us Think About Prostate Cancer Like Joe? by Robert Warren Hess When it comes to prostate cancer, we men are our own worst enemy. We just can’t seem to come to grips with the risk and the testing. I hope the story I’m about to tell will prevent you from becoming a “Joe” and, even better, ensure you don’t become one of the 30,000 American men who die each year from prostate cancer. The story begins about 11:30 am, on Sunday June 2, 2013, as I’m about halfway through my weekend bicycle ride from Manhattan Beach, over the Palos Verdes Peninsula, and up to the antenna farm where the old Nike site was located on top of San Pedro Hill. As usual, I was riding Fast Freddy, my Blinged-out Italian steel bike made by the Renzo Formigli workshop in Florence, Italy. If you’re not a cyclist, Freddy looks pretty normal. But if you are a cyclist, there’s a lot to attract your attention. Here’s what gets the conversation going: lugged steel frame; gold lugs – I think it’s real; deep rim Zipp wheels, and Shimano Ultegra electric shifting. Guys make a comment about Freddy and […] read more

How to Create a Great Lunch in Just 5:55.2 minutes

How to Make a Great Lunch in Just Under Six Minutes by Robert Warren Hess I’m always busy and I tend to grab the first edible thing I can put my hands on. My ability to eat just about anything was honed during my Army career. We ate whatever the mess sergeant put in our mess kits because we never knew when the next meal would arrive. But, this post is about how to get create something tasty and nutritious in just five minutes. As you can see from this image from my iPhone timer I didn’t quite make 5 minutes, but it was close. This Day was Salad Day so Here are my Ingredients . . . I always buy pre-washed salads and greens when I can get them. They cost a tad more, but the washing process is just to time consuming for me I like food with a bit of tanginess, so I like to include some kale, mustard greens, and arugula with my romaine i also love sweet peppers, so I buy bags of peppers like the ones you see here – these do take washing I use salsa for my salad dressing – it’s tangy […] read more

How I Rode Around the World for Prostate Cancer Awareness

Prostate Cancer Circle the World Cycling Jersey Diet, Exercise, and Cancer By Robert Warren Hess I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December 2002, just a few weeks before my older sister succumbed to pancreatic cancer. As you might imagine, that was a very intense period of my life. Just like most people receiving a cancer diagnosis, I began an intense research program focused on what causes cancer, with a good dose of “why me?” thrown into the mix. I learned two things: 1) the medical community doesn’t really know the causes of cancer and (American Cancer Society) 2) there is a great deal of anecdotal research indicating that diet – poor eating habits – and lack of exercise are correlated with higher cancer rates (Prostate Cancer Foundation). So, being a good US Army alumnus, I looked around for things that I personally could do to reduce my risk of recurrence. I found that I personally can control just three cancer factors: 1) what I eat, 2) my exercise level, and 3) my mental outlook. What I Did I got back on my bicycle and in the last 10 years I have ridden over 23,000 miles. I went to a mostly vegetarian diet and dropped 20 lb., […] read more

JP Morgan Chase Community Giving Contributes to PCAP’s ProstateTracker Program

MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIFORNIA (PRBUZZ) January 3, 2013. “Prostate cancer doesn’t care.  But JP Morgan Chase Does!”  JPMorgan Chase Community Giving joined the fight to end prostate cancer by contributing to the first Internet prostate cancer early warning tool for men, ProstateTracker. ProstateTracker, developed by the Prostate Cancer Awareness Project, is a free Internet-based prostate cancer early detection tool. Men just enter their annual prostate specific antigen (PSA) number and ProstateTracker reveals if there is an increase from the previous year, which is a warning sign of possible prostate cancer. ProstateTracker also sends a reminder email when a man’s next annual test is due.  ProstateTracker is free to everyone. Prostate Cancer Awareness Project CEO Robert Hess, himself a 10-year prostate cancer survivor, notes that he calls himself an “accidental prostate cancer survivor” because he was diagnosed with multiple prostate cancer tumors when his PSA and physical exam results were within the “normal” range. Hess notes that “normal” varies from man-to-man.  The best way to find prostate cancer early, when it still is treatable, is tracking any rise in PSA value from the previous year. “Metatastic prostate cancer – prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body- is almost impossible to […] read more

Guys don’t Let Guys Get Prostate Cancer

Today is the first Tuesday in September, which is Prostate Cancer Awareness Project’s monthly Prostate Cancer Awareness Day. But, September is also national Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. Guys, this month you need to do three things: 1 – Create your free, anonymous PSA tracking account at www.ProstateTracker.org 2 – Get at least one of your buds to do the same 3 – Meet us at the White House fence by Lafayette Park @ 12:15 pm on Sunday, September 9th, to celebrate the end of the 171-day, 25,000 mile, Prostate Cancer Pony Express ride. read more