PCAW: Highlights and Published Research

For over a decade, the third week in September has been dedicated to Prostate Cancer Awareness and Screening. Prostate Cancer Awareness Week (PCAW) is one of the oldest and most successfully coordinated cancer screening programs in history, yet we have only just begun to reach the millions of people who need to hear our message.

The Prostate Cancer Education Council (PCEC) is the coordinating organization for hundreds of prostate cancer screening sites around the world offering FREE or LOW COST screenings to all men over the age of 40 and high risk males over the age of 35. The screenings consist of a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test and a digital rectal exam (DRE) by a trained professional.

The PCEC supports hospitals, clinics, private physicians and health centers so they are able to provide screenings during Prostate Cancer Awareness Week. The program is designed to assist local communities with screening guidelines, screening questionnaires, blood processing, publicity and screening site locators.

At the time the PCEC was formed, nearly half of the diagnosed prostate cancer cases had spread beyond the prostate gland, greatly reducing chances for successful treatment. Since PCAW was initiated in 1989, nearly 60% of new prostate cancer cases are discovered when they are still localized and potentially curable, indicating a dramatic increase in awareness among the general public about the importance of early detection.

African Americans are twice as likely to get and die from prostate cancer. Recognizing this, PCEC made a huge stride in reaching the African American population and getting them screened. Through a number of our special programs like the Tackle Prostate Cancer program and our Andre Braugher celebrity public service announcement, we were able to increase the number of African American men screened.

In addition to screening millions of men during PCAW, the PCEC participates in new research and technology development to help advance the treatment and detection of prostate cancer. Screenings during Prostate Cancer Awareness Week have yielded valuable research results, including data reflecting the positive predictive value of conducting the DRE and the PSA tests together rather than alone. Current research is based on our "Know Your Numbers" campaign where we offer free PSA, PSA, total Testosterone and total Cholesterol levels, in addition to collecting body mass index. This research analyzes the relationship between a variety of these variables and several presentations and papers have been published or are waiting to be published in journals such as Adult Urology and American Family Practice.