Prostate Cancer Data Center

Prostate Cancer Foundation Homepage - Prostate Cancer Foundation

Prostate Cancer Climb Reaches Summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro

By Anonymous

The Tanzanian guides who lead climbers up the hellish slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa have a wonderful way of pulling their clients out of their misery: They sing to them when the going gets tough.
    The songs in Swahili usually begin in the dark hours before dawn as climbers on the ascent struggle to stay alert, their minds numbed by the cold and their bodies too tired to take another step.
    “Pole-pole,” one guide hums out loud. “Go slowly.”
    “Kilimanjaro akunamatata,” says another. “Kilimanjaro, no problem.”
    For one special team that attempted the 19,340-foot summit last month, the tortoise (vs. hare) strategy paid off. Climbing for an expedition known as the Prostate Cancer Climb, three men diagnosed with cancer reached the summit.
    “Prostate cancer hits men hard every year,” said Dr. Terry Weyman, a Los Angeles sports chiropractor who founded the Prostate Cancer climb in 2001 following the loss of his father. “In the ongoing battle to gain awareness and research funding, count this as a victory.”
Weyman’s father, Hollywood television production manager Hap Weyman, became one of more than 32,000 American men to die from prostate cancer each year. In 2003, over 220,000 men will be diagnosed.
    Weyman led the first Prostate Cancer Climb up 22,840-foot Mt. Aconcagua, Argentina, the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere. Mt. Kilimanjaro, also one of the famed Seven Summits, is the highest mountain in Africa.
    Despite the encouragement of the guides and careful attention to acclimatization, the 4,000-foot elevation gain on summit day took its toll. Ironically, the cancer survivors fared better than some of their counterparts. Executive Director Glenn Weaver of the Prostate Cancer Research Institute, the non-profit organization sponsoring the climb, succumbed to high altitude sickness and had to be whisked off the mountain on a stretcher. The ordeal left him weak and his vision blurry for days.
    Several others had to be rushed down from the summit as well, nauseous and dehydrated by the time they returned to high camp.
    Bruce Hestad, a 56-year-old prostate cancer survivor from South Dakota, used the mountain as a metaphor for his own health struggles.
    “When you are at your weakest moment and want to quit, you cannot,” Hestad said. “We learn to pull from within when faced with difficult situations and that’s what the survivors did to get to the top.”
    Despite his cancer surgery and the weakening effects from hormone therapy, Hestad prepared for the ordeal by following a strict regimen of exercise and diet. He became the team’s first prostate cancer survivor to reach a major summit. Cancer veteran Ken Malik, 58, was the oldest. Two men in their 60s and 70s attempted the climb, but didn’t make it.
    “Reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro exemplifies that cancer needn’t be a death sentence" said Malik, first diagnosed with prostate cancer eight
years ago. “One can live a rich life and even tall mountains are within
reach.”
The group is looking at Mt. Elbrus, Russia, the highest peak in Europe, as its next goal. For more information about the Prostate Cancer Climb, visit www.prostatecancerclimb.org.





This article courtesy of http://prostatecancertreatmentsdata.info/.
You may freely reprint this article on your website or in
your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author
name and URL remain intact.

Going to the Barbershop to Fight Cancer: MGM / Barbershop 2 Support Prostate Cancer Awareness With Historic Campaign To Reach African American, Latino Males: www.ProstateNet.org 1.888.4ProsNet (1.888.477.6763)

By Anonymous

New York, NY February 2 2004--Hollywood has joined forces with The Prostate Net to help prevent the second leading cause of cancer death in African American and Latino men via an innovative barbershop community outreach campaign.

Themed “Going to the Barbershop to Fight Cancer,” the health awareness campaign urges men to get checked for prostate cancer and coincides with MGM’s February release of the movie BarberShop 2 Back in Business, featuring Cedric the Entertainer, Ice Cube, Eve and Queen Latifah. February is also Cancer Prevention Month and Black History Month.

In addition to MGM, the program is supported by Aventis Oncology, American Airlines, Black Entertainment Television/BET, Abbott Laboratories Fund, Foundation for Medical Evaluation and Education, Cancer Informational Service of the National Cancer Institute, Capital Technology Information Services, Inc., National Black Leadership Initiative on Cancer, SurferNetwork Internet Radio and Celgene Corporation.

Over the next few weeks, ethnic barbers in major US cities will participate in community health education sessions at local hospitals. They will learn important facts about prostate cancer from leading experts in the field, including information about warning signs and resources available at local hospitals and medical centers. Armed with insight, they will immediately begin a grassroots community battle to spread the word to their customers – urging them to take advantage of free screenings offered by local hospitals.

According to The Prostate Net, prostate cancer is the single most diagnosed of all cancers, and the second leading cause of cancer death in men. African American men have an incidence rate 59% greater than white males and a death rate 128% higher than white men. Latino/Hispanic males have the third highest rates of prostate cancer incidence and death. Medically underserved patients are usually diagnosed with advanced stage disease and have limited or no health insurance to pay for treatment.

“We provide the means to cope, until there is a cure,” says Virgil Simons, founder of The Prostate Net.

Hundreds of barbers nationwide are expected to participate in the program, with a goal of encouraging 50,000 African American and Latino Men to be screened by March 1. Many leading cancer research centers in the US are participating in the community outreach campaign, which will continue throughout the year and expand to include information about asthma, heart disease and other illnesses affecting people of color.

Simons explains, “We want to honor the barbers’ historic position as a business leader and communicator. Upon completion of their training sessions at local hospitals, these Community Health Motivators (barbers) will receive Certificates of Cutting Edge Achievement for taking time out of their busy schedules to fight cancer, in addition to MGM gift packages and other prizes. In partnership with local hospitals, we are pleased to participate in this grassroots campaign to help save lives.”

To learn how your company can help or if you are a barber who would like to participate in a training session, call 1.888.4ProsNet (1.888.477.6763) or visit www.ProstateNet.org.

Background
Prostate Net Founder Simons was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1995 at age 48. Despite having excellent medical coverage, a doctor with major credentials and a high degree of health literacy, he realized there was an overwhelming amount of data to digest and comprehend regarding his condition. He founded the non-profit entity to provide credible and actionable information, using a synergistic blend of cancer survivors, renowned cancer clinicians and researchers and corporate supporters that will enable patients, their families and health professionals to partner in making the appropriate choices to assure the best chance for cure and retention of the desired quality of life.

Participating Hospitals
California: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Warshaw Prostate Cancer Center (Los Angeles); Long Beach Memorial Medical Canter, Todd Cancer Center (Long Beach)
Colorado: Prostate Cancer Education Council (Greenwood Village)
Connecticut: Hartford Hospital, Gray Cancer Center (Hartford)
Washington, DC: Washington Cancer Institute, Patient and Community Services; Howard University Cancer Center
Georgia: Grady Memorial Hospital, Georgia Cancer Center for Excellence (Atlanta);
Dia de la Mujera Latina (Marietta)
Illinois: Rush University Medical Center; Northwestern University Lurie Cancer Center, Department of Urology; University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center, Community Outreach (Chicago)
Maryland: Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, Community Programs and Research (Baltimore)
Mississippi: Memorial Hospital, Department of Oncology (Gulfport)
North Carolina: Duke University Medical Center, Duke Cancer Patient Support Program (Durham)
Nevada: Nevada Cancer Institute, Department of Education and Outreach (Las Vegas)
New Jersey: Capital Health System – Mercer, Brava/NJCEED Program; NJ Cancer Education & Early Detection Program, NJ Department of Health and Senior Services (Trenton); St. Michael’s Medical Center, Cancer Early Detection and Education Program (Newark); Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Gallo Prostate Cancer Center (New Brunswick)
New York: Kingsbrook Medical Center (Brooklyn); Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention, Community Affairs; Mount Sinai Medical Center; New York University School of Medicine, Dept. of Urology; Institute for Cancer Prevention (Manhattan); New York Hospital (Flushing)
Pennsylvania: Fox Chase Cancer Center, Department of Community Outreach (Cheltenham); Fox-Chase Temple University Cancer Center, Department of Patient Services and Development for Oncology (Philadelphia)
Texas: University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston)

For more information visit www.ProstateNet.org and for interview requests, contact: Lynne Scott Jackson, Millynneum, Inc. 212.560.9300; millynneum@aol.com

##






This article courtesy of http://prostatecancertreatmentsdata.info/.
You may freely reprint this article on your website or in
your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author
name and URL remain intact.

PCA recieves addition funding to establish Mobile IDTFs for the treatment of prostate cancer in the ASC.

By Anonymous

January 2 2004--Prostate Centers of America, LLC a Georgia based mobile healthcare services company announced today that it has recieved approval for an additional credit line of up to 1 million dollars.

PCA provides mobile LDR prostate brachytherapy for the treatment of prostate cancer (Seed Implant), Greenlight Laser for BPH and Prostate/Renal Cryoablation services. It currently has Agreements for the provision of LDR brachytherapy in 7 Ambulatory Surgery Centers in 3 states. They are in negotiations with 18 more in several other states. Greenlight Laser and Cryoablation are provided to Hospitals.

Randy Tibitts, President of PCA states, "This line will allow us to establish our first 3 mobile IDTF routes with the best equipment and personnel. Our routes in Ohio, Maryland and Florida will be now become operational within the next 45 days".

He also reports " We have been dealing with a "gap" if you will, in the time the Ambulatory Surgery Center signs with PCA and the time we become operational. We will be actively recruiting our own Radiation Oncologist Brachytherapy Specialist to join PCA on a full-time basis. Once this physician is licensed in each state it should significantly decrease the time lapse we have been experiencing".

Prostate Centers of America provides ancillary prostate cancer treatment services to the Ambulatory Surgery Center with little up front cost and no per procedure charges. CMS (formally HCFA) has decided that the part of the LDR brachytherapy procedure that involves ancillary services in the ASC should be billed by an IDTF (Independent Diagnostic Testing Facility).

PCA can be reached at 888-535-8457




This article courtesy of http://prostatecancertreatmentsdata.info/.
You may freely reprint this article on your website or in
your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author
name and URL remain intact.