University Times

More than 180,000 men are expected to be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, 10,000 in Pennsylvania alone. Nearly 37,000 men are projected to die from the disease, which is the most common non-skin form of cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in men. And prostate cancer occurrence and death rates are nearly two times higher in African-American men than in white men.

To help counter these statistics, UPMC Health System, with the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and Pitt's urology department, has developed the Comprehensive Prostate Cancer Awareness Program. The program, funded by an $800,000 state grant, is focused on developing, implementing and evaluating public educational awareness; providing state-of-the-art educational programs for health professionals, and designing innovative informational tools and methods to assist men diagnosed with prostate cancer.

The program will target men with a family history of prostate cancer, African-American men, those aged 40-75, economically disadvantaged men and those with lifestyle risk factors.

Also part of the program is a series of seminars to discuss research conducted to prevent prostate cancer, early detection procedures and strategies to cope with the disease and its treatment. Individual risk assessments will be provided.

The program also is implementing a computerized decision-making tool developed by Kenneth McCarty, professor of medicine and pathology. The tool can tailor treatment choices to an individual while considering his personal preferences.

For more information, call 800/237-4274.