Why We Wear Blue?

Husbands. Fathers. Brothers. Uncles. Partners. Friends. Co-Workers. Sons.  They are the reasons we Wear BLUE.

September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

Did you know……

• “Not counting some forms of skin cancer, prostate cancer in the United States is the most common cancer in men, no matter your race or ethnicity.

• One new case occurs every 2.5 minutes and a man dies from prostate cancer every 17 minutes.

•  After lung cancer, prostate cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men in the U.S. 

•  In fact a nonsmoking man is more likely to get prostate cancer than lung, bronchus, colon, rectal, bladder, lymphoma, melanoma, oral and kidney cancers combined.

• It is the second most common cause of death from cancer among white, African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Hispanic men.

• It’s the fourth most common cause of death from cancer among Asian/Pacific Islander men.

• More common in African-American men compared to white men. African-American men are 65% more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than Caucasian-Americans and are more than twice as likely to die from it. The reasons for this disparity are not yet known.

• Less common in American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Hispanic men compared to white men.

As of 2013 (the most recent year for which numbers are available)—

The American Cancer Society’s estimates for prostate cancer in the United States are:

• About 238,590 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed
• About 29,720 men will die of prostate cancer

It is true that many men with prostate cancer—especially those with tumors that have not spread beyond the prostate—die of other causes without ever having any symptoms from the cancer.

It is estimated that over 2 million American men currently living with prostate cancer. Early prostate cancer usually has no symptoms and is most commonly detected through prostate cancer screening tests such as the PSA blood test and digital rectal exam.

Further Prostate cancer can be eliminated from the body by surgery or radiation—if diagnosed at an early stage.  Still, every year, 70,000 men require additional treatment due to a recurrence of prostate cancer.

The good news is Prostate cancer is a relatively slow-growing cancer and the 5-year survival rate for prostate cancer diagnosed at all stages is 98%. The relative 10-year survival rate is 84% and the 15-year survival rate is 56%.

For men over the age of fifty your chance of having prostate cancer increases rapidly with more than 70% of all prostate cancers are diagnosed in men over the age of 65. It is still unclear why this increase with age occurs for prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer should not be bushed off as not much to worry about and we are doing our part to make people aware of this disease and how to screen for it.

Why do we wear blue? For our Husbands. Fathers. Brothers. Uncles. Partners. Friends. Co-Workers. Sons.

Videos

General Overview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P75hJfHNRIM

African American Men specific information

The PSA screening test

Even more information bordering on TMI. Graphic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgXWIUIHtI0

Data source:

U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group. United States Cancer Statistics: 1999–2009 Incidence and Mortality Web-based Report. Atlanta (GA): Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Cancer Institute; 2013. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/uscs.

If you want to know more about prostate cancer numbers, visit Prostate Cancer Statistics and Cancer Among Men.

https://www.cancer.org/cancer/prostatecancer/

https://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/detection/PSA