FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Kate Lagreca
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AdMeTech Marks Prostate Cancer Awareness Month with Community Events Across Massachusetts
BOSTON, MA—September 9, 2015—AdMeTech Foundation, a Boston
non-profit focused on prostate cancer research and awareness, will observe September as National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month with five educational events throughout the state.
AdMeTech’s mission is to create a Massachusetts model of national leadership in prostate cancer research, awareness, and education and ending prostate cancer as a major health care disparity.
On Friday, September 16, AdMeTech will kick off the first-ever Global Summit on Precision Diagnosis for Prostate Cancer in Boston, MA. The goal of this Summit is to educate key health stakeholders about the state-of-the-art and emerging advances in prostate diagnostics, and their groundbreaking impact on precision care, including personalized approaches to screening, early detection and treatment. For the first time, this Summit will bring together experts in the development, research and clinical implementation of biomarkers, imaging, genetics, genomics and other precision diagnostics, in order to bridge the existing inter-disciplinary gaps, breaking down the silos.
At the Summit on Saturday, AdMeTech Foundation and Brigham and Women’s Hospital will unveil the results of a retrospective clinical MRI trial. In 2013, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health provided $1.5 million in funding to conduct the clinical trials for diagnostic imaging tools for prostate cancer. The funding was apportioned by the state legislature.
“Prostate cancer will take the lives of hundreds of Massachusetts men this year alone, and it is more than 150% more lethal in African American men compared to Caucasian men, even though it is curable when detected early,” said Dr. Faina Shtern, CEO and President of AdMeTech. “These disparities in mortality are greater in prostate cancer than in breast cancer in women, and in other major causes of death, such as heart diseases and stroke. In a Hispanic population, prostate cancer mortality rate is almost 40% higher in Boston compared to statewide average. This situation is unacceptable in our state and our city that has some of the world’s best hospitals. We are grateful to the leaders of state legislation and the City of Boston for their support and shared commitment to make Massachusetts a national champion in reducing health care disparities.”
“As a prostate cancer survivor, I know firsthand that early detection saves lives,” said State Representative Stephen Kulik (D-Worthington). “We have seen how early detection with mammography has become a great equalizer for all women with breast cancer. I am very pleased that the Massachusetts Legislature has been such a strong supporter of AdMeTech’s pioneering research in advanced imaging, as well as public outreach and education efforts that are creating similar strides for all men.”
AdMeTech Foundation, Boston Health and Human Services Chief Felix G. Arroyo, Boston Public Health Commission, and Suffolk County Sheriff Steven W. Tompkins will come together on Wednesday, September 28 from 11:30 am to 2 pm to observe City Hall’s First Annual Prostate Cancer Awareness Day. The City’s Awareness Day mirrors AdMeTech’s Annual Prostate Cancer Awareness Day at the State House. Free individual, family, and group counseling on screening, diagnosis, and treatment will be available between 1:30 pm and 2 pm in City Hall’s Mezzanine.
“I am proud to partner with AdMeTech to bring the first-ever Prostate Cancer Awareness Day to City Hall so that we can work together to inform and educate the men of Boston on this very important issue,” said Arroyo.
“The Boston Public Health Commission is proud to support AdMeTech Foundation’s work to raise public awareness of prostate cancer disparities,” said Huy Nguyen, MD, Medical Director of the Boston Public Health Commission. “In Boston, between 1999 and 2013, we have seen significant improvements in the rates of death from prostate cancer for both black and white men; however, black men in our city still die from this disease at over two and a half times the rate of white men.”
On Saturday, September 24, AdMeTech will present a prostate cancer workshop to the delegates of the Annual Meeting of the New England Area Conference (NEAC) of NAACP, held at the DoubleTree Hotel in Bedford. During the workshop, Dr. Shtern will discuss prostate cancer care as a major health care disparity in black men and the cutting-edge, life-saving advances in patient care.
“Prostate cancer is a central issue to men’s health, with unacceptably high mortality in men of color,” said Juan Cofield, NEAC NAACP’s President. “Prostate Cancer Awareness Month is about education, which makes it possible to bring cutting-edge advances in patient care to every man, including the most vulnerable and the underserved.”
Throughout September, AdMeTech’s partners in NAACP and Good Samaritan Medical Center will bring prostate cancer awareness to local health fairs and faith-based organizations in Brockton, where mortality rates in black men are among the highest in Massachusetts.
In October, AdMeTech will continue its awareness efforts with a Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers (MAMLEO) workshop on Saturday, October 1. Dr. Shtern will join a multicultural group of sworn and retired officers for an educational session and free counseling at 61 Columbia Road, Dorchester from 12 noon to 4 pm.
On Saturday, October 15, AdMeTech Foundation will join Greater Springfield NAACP and Bishop Talbert Swan for a prostate cancer awareness event in Springfield. From 11:30 am to 2 pm, educational sessions will be integrated with counseling at Spring of Hope Church of God in Christ.
“Black men are losing their lives to prostate cancer disproportionately, and this must stop,” said Bishop Swan, President of Greater Springfield NAACP. “We have joined NEAC NAACP and AdMeTech’s efforts to prevent death and suffering this disease causes in our communities and our families.”
AdMeTech’s Global Summit and community events are an integral part of a multi-faceted statewide prostate cancer research, education and awareness program supported by the state’s legislature and led in cooperation with key medical experts and other stakeholders of the Prostate Cancer Action Council, including American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Center for Elimination of Health and Social Inequities and Disparities, Massachusetts Prostate Cancer Coalition, NEAC NAACP, and Men of Color Health Awareness program in Springfield. The campaign is focused on men at high risk of prostate cancer and seeks to save lives, improve quality of life, and reduce health care costs.
About AdMeTech Foundation: A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, based in Boston, MA, AdMeTech Foundation established the Manogram® Project, providing international leadership for groundbreaking programs in research, education and awareness to expedite advancement of diagnostic tools for screening, early detection and treatment of prostate cancer (www.admetech.org).
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