As pink ribbons abound, think about prostate cancer
BY JOHN B. GILL III, GUEST OPINION
October 11, 2010 12:05 AM Posted in: Guest Columns Tagged: health care

John B. Gill III, of Ormond Beach, is the senior pastor at Tomoka United Methodist Church.

As a man who has a mother, three sisters (one of whom is a breast cancer survivor), a wife and a daughter, I rejoice at all the enthusiasm there is in our society about eradicating breast cancer. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and, by late summer, pink ribbons are festooning dresses, lapel pins and countless products. It is wonderful to see the support women are receiving in battling this awful disease, and I fully endorse everything that is being done.

No one can miss that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. But how many of you were aware that September was Prostate Cancer Awareness Month? I dare say, almost no one -- including me. And this is especially ironic since I have been dealing with prostate cancer since April. At 51, a routine blood test revealed that my PSA was quite high, and a biopsy indicted that I had an aggressive cancerous tumor, a cancer that has been growing for five to 10 years (PSAs should be done for men in their 40s, not 50s, as is now routine). I had my prostate removed surgically in July. On Sept. 15, when going to a follow-up appointment, someone in my surgeon's office handed me a blue-ribbon lapel pin, and said, "You know -- September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month." Well, no, I didn't know. I have seen nothing about it in the news. No blue ribbons on people's lapels. No blue ribbons on products. Nothing. Why?

It may shock you, as it did me, to learn that prostate cancer is just as threatening to men as breast cancer is to women: One out of eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. One out of six men will learn they have prostate cancer. Both are the most common cancers for their gender: 218,000 women, and 192,000 men are diagnosed each year, while 41,000 women and 32,000 men die each year. Only lung cancer is a greater threat for both sexes.

Until the last few decades, breast cancer was a secret disease that people were embarrassed to talk about. Thankfully, it has been brought out into the open, and, now, women are getting the support they deserve, and research dollars are flowing to find a cure. Today, prostate cancer is the secret disease men and society are embarrassed to talk about. It's high time it was brought out of the shadows and into the light of day so that men can also feel support and greater resources be dedicated to finding a cure. Next September, please support Prostate Cancer Awareness. Your father, brothers, sons and husband may one day benefit.

Link.

People should create awareness for breast and prostate cancer simultaneously in the same month. That would be most effective.