Black Men Archives

Rewriting the Story for Black Men, Part 4:

If you are overweight, if you smoke, are sedentary, or if you eat a high-fat, high-carb, low-vegetable diet, you are doing prostate cancer a favor: you’re making sure it has a very hospitable environment. “Cancer is also a chronic disease,” explains PCF-funded physician-scientist Kosj Yamoah, M.D., Ph.D., radiation oncologist and. Read More

Rewriting the Story for Black Men, Part 3:

“It might seem racist to say that cancer is different in Black men than it is in other men,” says PCF-funded physician-scientist Kosj Yamoah, M.D., Ph.D., radiation oncologist and cancer epidemiologist at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. “But that couldn’t be further from the truth: it’s not about race. . Read More

Rewriting the Story for Black Men, Part 2:

Not only does prostate cancer tend to start at a younger age, and to be more aggressive, in some Black men: it also tends to start in a different part of the prostate! And not only is it often in a different part (the anterior region of the prostate, behind. Read More

Rewriting the Story for Black Men, Part 1:

If you are of African descent, you are at higher risk of getting prostate cancer. However, says PCF-funded physician-scientist Kosj Yamoah, M.D., Ph.D., radiation oncologist and cancer epidemiologist at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, this news should not make you feel defeated. Instead, use this knowledge as advance warning! . Read More

My Prostate Cancer Story: Brian Custer

“Do you want to live or do you want to die?” That’s a question Brian Custer asks men, especially African-American men, when they aren’t sure whether to get checked for prostate cancer. Read More

A Not-So-Good Practice Proves Harmful in African-American Men

It wasn’t that great of an idea to start with: giving hormonal therapy to lower testosterone in men with localized prostate cancer to make them eligible for radiation seed treatment. The idea is that a short course of hormonal therapy – usually a shot of Lupron or Zoladex – will. Read More

Genes that Discriminate

“African-American men are discriminated against by prostate cancer, and for the first time, we know why.” This was oncologist Jonathan Simons, M.D., CEO of the Prostate Cancer Foundation, talking to the Congressional Black Caucus at a special symposium on prostate cancer. Simons was telling the lawmakers about the trailblazing work. Read More

On the Horizon: Understanding Exactly How Prostate Cancer Targets Men of African Ancestry

When it comes to lethal prostate cancer, men of African descent are born with a genetic Achilles heel – or more likely, several points of weakness that make them vulnerable. It’s not all genetic; the deck is stacked against these men for many reasons, including the high-fat, low-vegetable Western diet,. Read More

Prostate Cancer and African Ancestry

Men of African descent are more likely to develop prostate cancer, and African American men are more than twice as likely caucasian men to die from it. Although lifestyle habits contribute to this greater likelihood, it is chiefly the result of certain genes that men of African descent possess. Learn. Read More

Interview with An Expert: African Ancestry and Prostate Cancer

If you are a man of African ancestry, prostate cancer needs to be on your radar. This is because, of all the men in the world, you are in the group that prostate cancer hits the hardest. Prostate cancer is different in you than it is in other men. It. Read More