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Earl Woods' Death Spotlights Prostate Cancer Risk One in Five African-American Men Will Be Diagnosed
Chicago Daily Herald
05-10-06
Maurice Denton checked his blood pressure each day on his machine at home.
He knew the symptoms and warning signs of stroke, the disease that claimed his father.
Careful about his health, Denton, 75, made sure during a medical checkup to let his doctor know about his frequent and urgent need to urinate.
The doctor checked for the reason, and found it in Denton's prostate.
"The cancer sneaked up on me," Denton says.
Following last week's death of Earl Woods, golfer Tiger Woods' dad, prostate cancer survivors like Denton, doctors and advocacy groups want their message to be very clear: Men, especialy African- American men, should check regularly for prostate cancer, even if they have no symptoms.
African-American men have a higher rate of getting and of dying from prostate cancer than men of any other racial or ethnic group in the U.S.
The disease will strike one in five black men, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. Their chance of dying from prostate cancer is at least double the rate for white, Hispanic, American Indian or Asian men, the CDC says.
The disease doesn't play favorites. Political opposites Colin Powell, the former secretary of state, and actor/activist Harry Belafonte both have been diagnosed. Woods, 74, learned in 1998 that he had the disease. He died Wednesday in Cypress, Calif.
The prostate is a walnut-sized gland located just below the bladder in men. Researchers don't know what causes prostate cancer, how to prevent it, or why some cases are killers while others grow slowly and never turn into serious health threats.
They also don't know why prostate cancer is more common - and more deadly - in African-American men.
A high-fat diet found in some traditional African-American cultures could contribute to getting that form of cancer, says Dr. Ronald Hickombottom of St. Joseph's Hospital in Chicago.
Hormonal differences could be another culprit, Hickombottom said.
While researchers sort it out, advocates say African-American men should begin regular testing at age 40, compared to age 55 for most white men. It's not something men look forward to, and many put it off.
"Here's what it boils down to," says Jamie Bearse of the National Prostate Cancer Coalition. "Only half of men at risk get screened annually. It's worse among African-Americans."
Screening entails taking a blood test to check levels of PSA, a substance that, when elevated, can indicate prostate cancer. Doctors also recommend a digital rectal exam, which allows a doctor to check internally for the prostate gland's size and shape.
"It's the rectal exam that none of us likes to have," Hickombottom says.
Treatment for prostate cancer ranges from careful observation and waiting to surgical removal of the prostate gland, radiation treatment and drug therapy.
After his diagnosis and treatment, Denton, who lives in South suburban Dolton, joined Us Too, a Downers Grove-based prostate cancer support group. He tries to build awareness of the disease, especially among his own family.
"I'd try to talk to my brother about it," Denton says. "If he didn't know about it, it's like it would go away. He didn't want to know about (prostate cancer). This is what I'm talking about. Out of sight. Out of mind. That's a big problem."
Us Too is in its third year of a $1.4 million grant from the CDC to create a pilot program for minorities and under-served people, says Pam Barrett, Us Too director of development. Us Too gets $290,000 a year through a renewable grant they have to reapply for each year.
The grant, Barrett says, funds a program to train volunteers who are members of these communities to help them talk about prostate cancer and treatment options.
In promoting cancer screening, it's important to directly address cultural ideas that might be held by black men, says Hickombottom, whose own father had prostate cancer.
"It's not a test that will make you less of a man," he says. "It only takes 10 seconds and can ensure your quality of life."
Ten seconds for 10 to 20 more years alive, Hickombottom says, is an offer too good to refuse.
GRAPHIC: Prostate cancer
- African-American men have the highest rate of prostate cancer in the world. The rate is 60 percent high than in white men.
- Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death for African-American men. It is second only to lung cancer.
- One in five African-American men is at a lifetime risk to get prostate cancer.
- White men are encouraged to have doctors check for prostate cancer at age 55. Black men are urged to get tested at age 40.
- A late diagnosis of prostate cancer in need of immediate treatment can cause erectile dysfunction or impotence.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; interviews
Chicago Daily Herald
05-10-06
Maurice Denton checked his blood pressure each day on his machine at home.
He knew the symptoms and warning signs of stroke, the disease that claimed his father.
Careful about his health, Denton, 75, made sure during a medical checkup to let his doctor know about his frequent and urgent need to urinate.
The doctor checked for the reason, and found it in Denton's prostate.
"The cancer sneaked up on me," Denton says.
Following last week's death of Earl Woods, golfer Tiger Woods' dad, prostate cancer survivors like Denton, doctors and advocacy groups want their message to be very clear: Men, especialy African- American men, should check regularly for prostate cancer, even if they have no symptoms.
African-American men have a higher rate of getting and of dying from prostate cancer than men of any other racial or ethnic group in the U.S.
The disease will strike one in five black men, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. Their chance of dying from prostate cancer is at least double the rate for white, Hispanic, American Indian or Asian men, the CDC says.
The disease doesn't play favorites. Political opposites Colin Powell, the former secretary of state, and actor/activist Harry Belafonte both have been diagnosed. Woods, 74, learned in 1998 that he had the disease. He died Wednesday in Cypress, Calif.
The prostate is a walnut-sized gland located just below the bladder in men. Researchers don't know what causes prostate cancer, how to prevent it, or why some cases are killers while others grow slowly and never turn into serious health threats.
They also don't know why prostate cancer is more common - and more deadly - in African-American men.
A high-fat diet found in some traditional African-American cultures could contribute to getting that form of cancer, says Dr. Ronald Hickombottom of St. Joseph's Hospital in Chicago.
Hormonal differences could be another culprit, Hickombottom said.
While researchers sort it out, advocates say African-American men should begin regular testing at age 40, compared to age 55 for most white men. It's not something men look forward to, and many put it off.
"Here's what it boils down to," says Jamie Bearse of the National Prostate Cancer Coalition. "Only half of men at risk get screened annually. It's worse among African-Americans."
Screening entails taking a blood test to check levels of PSA, a substance that, when elevated, can indicate prostate cancer. Doctors also recommend a digital rectal exam, which allows a doctor to check internally for the prostate gland's size and shape.
"It's the rectal exam that none of us likes to have," Hickombottom says.
Treatment for prostate cancer ranges from careful observation and waiting to surgical removal of the prostate gland, radiation treatment and drug therapy.
After his diagnosis and treatment, Denton, who lives in South suburban Dolton, joined Us Too, a Downers Grove-based prostate cancer support group. He tries to build awareness of the disease, especially among his own family.
"I'd try to talk to my brother about it," Denton says. "If he didn't know about it, it's like it would go away. He didn't want to know about (prostate cancer). This is what I'm talking about. Out of sight. Out of mind. That's a big problem."
Us Too is in its third year of a $1.4 million grant from the CDC to create a pilot program for minorities and under-served people, says Pam Barrett, Us Too director of development. Us Too gets $290,000 a year through a renewable grant they have to reapply for each year.
The grant, Barrett says, funds a program to train volunteers who are members of these communities to help them talk about prostate cancer and treatment options.
In promoting cancer screening, it's important to directly address cultural ideas that might be held by black men, says Hickombottom, whose own father had prostate cancer.
"It's not a test that will make you less of a man," he says. "It only takes 10 seconds and can ensure your quality of life."
Ten seconds for 10 to 20 more years alive, Hickombottom says, is an offer too good to refuse.
GRAPHIC: Prostate cancer
- African-American men have the highest rate of prostate cancer in the world. The rate is 60 percent high than in white men.
- Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death for African-American men. It is second only to lung cancer.
- One in five African-American men is at a lifetime risk to get prostate cancer.
- White men are encouraged to have doctors check for prostate cancer at age 55. Black men are urged to get tested at age 40.
- A late diagnosis of prostate cancer in need of immediate treatment can cause erectile dysfunction or impotence.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; interviews
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