Posted Jun. 15, 2016 at 4:18 PM
The Brockton NAACP, Good Samaritan Medical Center and the AdMeTech foundation are hosting a prostate cancer awareness event on Friday night at VFW Post 1046 at 283 North Quincy St. “It behooves us to provide an opportunity for people to be aware of what they have to do to maintain prostate health,” said Stephen Bernard, of the Brockton NAACP.
“We want to empower people to make certain that they get the test when they go to their primary care doctor,” said Stephen Bernard, president of the Brockton Area Branch NAACP. “Adults can make their own determination with the help of a doctor how to approach treatment. … We know that for people who have it detected early, the five-year survival rate is 100 percent. Every year you wait after that the chance of survival is less.”
The event, held in conjunction with Father’s Day Weekend, is free and open to the public, Bernard said. The event is being organized by the Brockton NAACP, Good Samaritan Medical Center and the AdMeTech Foundation, creator of The Manogram Project.
The event aimed at empowering fully informed decisions on prostate health will feature guest speakers including Faina Shtern, doctor and president of the AdMeTech Foundation, and Jason Zauls, radiation oncologist and medical director for the cancer program at Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton.
The prostate health awareness campaign is especially needed in Plymouth County, which has the largest rate of prostate cancer mortality in the state, Bernard said. In Brockton, a very diverse city, the problem is particularly concerning because African Americans and Hispanic blacks have a 2 1/2 times higher rate than whites, Bernard said. “It is an epidemic overall because one seventh of all men, whether black or white, brown or red, have prostate cancer,” Bernard said.
The Brockton prostate cancer awareness campaign is distinguished because of its foundation in the facts, through a partnership with the NAACP with the AdMeTech Foundation, Bernard said.
Shtern, the president of the AdMeTech Foundation, said that together with the NAACP and local state legislators, a new approach to prostate health is being launched in Brockton. “Best evidence shows that early detection of prostate cancer saves lives, prevents unspeakable suffering of advanced disease and reduces health disparities,” Shtern said. “In my view, this highlights high mortality rate in Brockton as a public health priority that must be dealt with immediately. … Together, we are creating a new model for ending the prostate cancer crisis in Brockton – and we are confident that this effort will enhance our ability to make a difference for other towns in our state and our nation where men’s lives are at risk.”
The Brockton prostate cancer awareness campaign suggests that men who reach age 40 should get their prostate specific antigen test and a digital rectal examination, Bernard said. “It behooves us to provide an opportunity for people to be aware of what they have to do to maintain prostate health,” Bernard said.
