AUGUST 2024

For many of us, Labor Day weekend will forever mean the end of summer vacation and the return to school – even those of us who haven’t seen the inside of a classroom in twenty or thirty (or more!) years.

But for Fans for the Cure, as well as for our colleagues at charities and healthcare centers around the U.S., September is National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. It is the time of year when even the lowly prostate gland stands a chance of receiving its fifteen minutes of relative fame on an end-of-show local news spot or in a ten-second announcement during a ballgame.

We’ll take it.

Our charity is booked solid for September, accepting invitations from as far away as Seattle and as close to home as Harlem, Asbury Park, and Yankee Stadium. At seminars, health events and ballgames, we will be urging men to take responsibility for their health, which includes staying current with their cancer screenings.

An Australian medical journal predicted last month that prostate cancer deaths would increase 136% worldwide between 2022 and 2050, making prostate cancer one of the few cancers heading in the wrong direction. We cannot allow this to occur.

We urge you to take the upcoming thirty days of September to make clear to the men you love the importance of stepping up and doing what it takes to stay in the game. The unprecedented wave of smarter and safer diagnosis and treatment options are for naught unless men find their way to the doctor to at least discuss having a baseline PSA blood test for prostate cancer.  

Kind regards,

Ed Randall
Founder + Chief Advocacy Officer
Fans for the Cure

Prostate Cancer Awareness Month arrived a week early for the Worcester Red Sox when they held Prostate Cancer Awareness Night on Wednesday, August 28 at Polar Park.

Fans for the Cure Founder, Ed Randall, and North Attleboro, MA resident (and support group member), Pete Jermain, fired in ceremonial first pitches after PA introductions of the two men, both of whom have dealt with the challenges of prostate cancer.

Randall was also interviewed during the game between the hometown WooSox and the Toledo Mud Hens, which was televised regionally on NESN+.

The charity thanks team president Charles Steinberg and our friends from the WooSox for a terrific and well-run night at the ballpark. Discussions are already underway to expand this year’s awareness night to a community screening event (or two) during the 2025 season.

Fans for the Cure will be joining with Virginia Mason Franciscan Health and the Seattle Mariners to conduct free PSA screenings on the upper concourse of T-Mobile Park in Seattle on Tuesday, September 10, when M’s play the San Diego Padres.

We then return to New York to collaborate with Montefiore Einstein and the Yankees for an evening of free PSA screenings at Yankee Stadium on Thursday, September 12, when the opponent is the Red Sox. Our location will be on the 200 level behind the press box.

You must have game tickets to enter both T-Mobile Park and Yankee Stadium.

Sunday, September 15 in Mineola, New York (across from the train station)  

Schedule  

8:00 a.m.: Breakfast

8:30 a.m.: Welcome – Aaron E. Katz, MD, FACS

8:40 a.m.: Dr. Katz, Dr. Haas, and Dr. Corcoran address the community regarding advances in prostate cancer research and treatment at NYU Langone Hospital — Long Island

9:40 a.m.: Q & A

10:10 a.m.: Break

10:30 a.m.: Celebrity Patient Experience

11:30 a.m.: Break

11:45 a.m.: Adjournment

For those wishing to join us for the Wiffle Ball Tournament, the festivities have has been moved by the organizers to Labor Day, September 2, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. The site is the New York Athletic Club on Travers Island in Pelham, New York (Westchester County).  

To play for a team or for the BBQ only ($35, starts at 3 p.m., includes beer), contact us at [email protected] or (917) 861-7893.

Many thanks to our friends at the Monroe Twp. Senior Softball League for its successful season-ending All-Star Game and awards night fundraiser, which also took the form of a prostate cancer awareness event. Fans’ Founder, Ed Randall, spoke briefly to about 350 attendees about the importance of testing and early detection.

Special guests included our musician friends from Jazz 4 Prostate Cancer Awareness, who played a set of blues and jazz, as well as an appearance and first-pitch delivery by former MLB pitcher (O’s, Astros, Mets, and Reds) and Fordham University great, Pete Harnisch.

Thank you again to the Monroe Twp. Senior Softball League for organizing one of the truly enjoyable events we have attended all year.  

To call attention to the importance of testing, keeping regular doctor appointments, and detecting cancer as early as possible, Ed Randall has scheduled at least one catch per day during the month of September. The latest catch partner to sign up with Ed is Yankee great, Hideki Matsui, who will also be supporting Fans for the Cure at our September 12 screening at Yankee Stadium.  

For more information about scheduling a catch with Ed, drop an email to [email protected]. To support his awareness initiative, please visit fansforthecure.org/donate and consider donating $30 (for 30 catches).    

Men’s Support Group – September 19
Guest: Howard Wolinsky – Journalist, Founder of The Active Surveillor. More about Howard: ancan.org/team/howard-wolinsky

Shmoozin’ with Slutsky and Randall – Monday, September 30
Stay tuned for an updated list of performers from the world of Broadway and comedy for a fast-moving ninety minutes. $30. Get tickets.

Visionary Dinner Honoring Phil Simms – Tuesday, October 29
Tickets are limited and now on sale to the public. For more information or with questions, visit [email protected].  

September 7 – Harlem Cares!
Fans for the Cure’s table will be at the health resource fair, 115th Street between Fifth Avenue and Lenox Avenue.
Prostate Cancer Walk begins at 8 a.m., with the health resource fair to follow.
More information: acsengage.org/harlemprostatewalk

September 10 – PSA Screening with Virginia Mason Franciscan Health
T-Mobile Park in Seattle
5:00 – 8:00 p.m. PDT. Upper concourse.
Mariners vs. Padres, 6:40 p.m.
Information: mlb.com/mariners

September 12 – Yankees-Montefiore Einstein Screening
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York
Gates open at 5:30, screenings continue through the fourth inning.
Yankees vs. Red Sox at 7:05 p.m. Special guest – Hideki Matsui.
Information: mlb.com/yankees

September 15 – NYU Langone – Long Island Prostate Cancer Awareness Seminar
8:00 a.m. – 12 p.m. in Mineola, New York
See article above.

September 21 – Asbury Park Community Festival
Springwood Park, 126 Atkins Avenue, Asbury Park, NJ
12 p.m. – 4 p.m.
More information: [email protected]

September 28 – New Jersey Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists
Prostate Cancer Awareness Day with Atlantic Health System
2303 Brunswick Avenue, Lawrenceville, NJ
3:00 p.m.
Send an email to [email protected] to learn more or to get involved.

November-December – Hockey Fights Cancer
Awareness and/or Screening Events with the New York Islanders, Seattle Kraken, and Vegas Golden Knights.

Both of our online support groups are free and open to all men and women respectively, with registration required.

Men's Support Group

• Thursday, September 5 at 7 PM ET – Register for the Men's Support Group meeting. 
• Thursday, September 19 at 7 PM ET

Women's Support Group

• Tuesday, September 3 at 8 PM ET – Register for the Women's Support Group meeting.
• Tuesday, September 17 at 8 PM ET

Fans for the Cure allows attendees to register for only the immediately upcoming online support group meeting. Thanks for understanding our desire to keep our meetings safe, secure, and private.

We thank Bayer for generously underwriting the technical and production costs associated with Fans for the Cure’s Online Men’s and Women’s/Caregivers’ Support Groups.

Over the past twenty years, Fans for the Cure has been fortunate to develop a strong network of trusted doctors, many of whom practice at NCI-Designated Cancer Centers and highly regarded regional hospitals. We are always available to assist you in finding a prostate cancer-focused physician or multidisciplinary team to guide you and your loved ones through all phases of the disease.

For timely referrals in all fifty states and Canada, please get in touch with us at (888) 301-4414 or via the orange button below. We promise to get back to you within twenty-four hours at the very latest.

In this section, we share links to blog posts, news articles, medical journals, books, and other items that we think will be of interest to you.

1. Multicancer early detection blood test preferentially detects high-grade prostate cancer
2. VIDEO: Evaluating Which Patients With Prostate Cancer Will Benefit From Triplet Therapy
3. Active Surveillance of Intermediate-Risk Prostate Cancer on the Rise
4. Proton therapy toxicity outcomes for localized prostate cancer: Long-term results at a comprehensive cancer center.
5. VIDEO: Dr Olivares of the Cleveland Clinic on Considerations for Managing Prostate Cancer in the Community Setting

With Prostate Cancer Awareness Month commencing tomorrow, we invite you to help us kick it off with a strong start. As we prepare for a bustling 30 days of health screenings and awareness-raising events across many communities, you can support our programs with a donation of any size. Please give today!

Call us: 888-301-4414