NOVEMBER 2024

As the vibrant colors of fall give way to the final, chilly days of November, we are again reminded of the incredible power of community and gratitude. At Fans for the Cure, this month is especially meaningful. GROW-vember has been a time when mustaches are more than a style statement – they become symbols of hope, awareness, and action in the fight against prostate cancer.  

This past month, we have been deeply grateful for you – our supporters, our advocates, and our champions. Your commitment to raising awareness about early detection and supporting education and screening programs around prostate cancer fuels our mission and inspires us each day. Whether you have grown a mustache, attended an event, started a conversation about men’s health, or contributed to our programs, you are making a tangible difference in the lives of men and their families.

Together, we have achieved so much in 2024: 

• Thousands of men have received life-changing information about early detection via educational materials, in-person and online seminars, and podcasts.
• Men, their spouses/partners, and their families have found value in our men’s and women’s support groups, community initiatives, and physician referrals. 
• Awareness has grown – one conversation at a time – thanks to passionate advocates like all of you.  

But the work does not stop here. Let’s continue to show the world what compassionate action can achieve. Here is how you can join us:  

• Giving Tuesday is December 3, one week from today. Support our mission to educate, advocate, and provide resources for men battling prostate cancer.
• Share. Spread the word about early detection and the importance of regular screenings with your network of relatives, friends, and work colleagues.  
• Join Us at a Fans for the Cure community event in 2025. From screenings at the Mets, Yankees, and Mariners, to health fairs, seminars, and community outreach events, to Catch for the Cure and the Wiffle Ball Tournament, we are again booked solid in the new year. We hope you can be with us for one or more of these events.   

On behalf of Chairman Steve Garvey and our Board, the team at Fans for the Cure wishes a happy Thanksgiving to you, your family, and to those you love. Thank you for standing with us in this mission. Everything you do, no matter how big or small, brings us closer to a future when no man must deal with prostate cancer alone.

With deepest gratitude and warm wishes,

Ed Randall
Founder + Chief Advocacy Officer
Fans for the Cure

Fortuitous timing allowed Fans for the Cure to attend two events in Long Island on November 9. 

In honor of Veterans Day, we collaborated with the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City, New York, and engaged veterans and others with educational materials and other handouts to stress the importance of going to the doctor and staying current with cancer screenings. This was the second time we honored veterans at the Cradle of Aviation Museum, an initiative we hope becomes an annual event on a Saturday close to Veterans Day.  

We had a half-hour to travel four miles down the road to the Lawrence Middle School in Hempstead, New York, for the school’s annual Health Fair. Always a well-organized and enthusiastically supported community event, this year’s health fair was no exception. We have never walked away from a conversation about prostate cancer, and there were two hours of questions and answers around our table, with not only attendees but event organizers and sponsors also participating. 

The charity held its annual Visionary Dinner at Per Se Restaurant in New York City on October 29. Highlights of the evening were Phil Simm’s entertaining stories about Reggie White and Bill Parcells, as well as Karen Shaffer’s remarks about the direction of Fans for the Cure’s programs, with a spotlight on bringing our services to the communities that need them most.  

Thank you to event sponsors, including the NFL Foundation (dinner underwriter), the NBA, the NHL, Jude Donato, and 16W Marketing. We also thank Diana and Phil Simms for bringing their warmth, their humor, and their A-games to every aspect of this dinner.

Dr. Allison Applebaum discusses the timely topic of care partnering with a loved one experiencing chronic illness in this National Family Caregivers Month episode. She presents key aspects of successful and balanced caregiving from her recently published book Stand By Me: Navigating Modern, Meaningful Caregiving, and touches on the unique challenges faced by care partners of patients on the prostate cancer journey.

Fans for the Cure will once again collaborate with the Messiah Baptist Church in Yonkers for a Prostate Cancer and Awareness Seminar. It will take place from 10-1 on Saturday, January 18, at the Yonkers Public Library (next to the Metro North train station). The urologist speaker is still TBD. 

This will be the church’s third event that features both physicians and congregation presenters. Refreshments will be served, and Fans for the Cure will sponsor a postgame coffee gathering across the street.

As part of the charity’s educational and awareness outreach to corporations, Fans for the Cure visited Brookfield Properties on November 15 for an informal one-hour presentation about prostate cancer. Given that this is an annual event at Brookfield, the subject of this year’s discussion was the latest in best practices in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. The Q&A session lasted for the final half hour and beyond. 

Many thanks to our friends at Brookfield for any number of kindnesses – for hosting annual corporate seminars, for their engaged attendees, and for several of their employees who raised significant funds for Fans for the Cure this year by laying down their razors for GROW-vember.

Fans for the Cure is happy to report that our old friend, Dave Sims, will be coming home. He will be replacing longtime Yankees’ broadcaster John Sterling in the WFAN radio booth (alongside Suzyn Waldman) starting with the 2025 baseball season. 

Dave, who never gave up his NYC apartment during his award-winning career with the Seattle Mariners, is truly one of the good guys. We worked with him most recently during our charity’s September 12 screening with the Mariners, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, and Playbook for Health.

Fans for the Cure hopes to be able to schedule a welcome reception for Dave in January prior to his departure for spring training.

The charity is currently in discussions with four or five NHL teams to collaborate on in-arena and/or community prostate cancer screenings during January-March 2025. Fans for the Cure has already participated with the New York Islanders in the team’s “Hockey with a Heart” initiative on Saturday, October 19, at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York.

Refer to our website and the January and February newsletters as we finalize the NHL scheduling.

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

Men's Support Group

• TONIGHT, Tuesday, November 26 at 7:05 PM ET – Register for the Men's Support Group meeting. 
• Thursday, December 12 at 7 PM ET

Women's Support Group

• Tuesday, December 3 at 8 PM ET – Register for the Women's Support Group meeting.
• Tuesday, December 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. Prostate Biopsy: What It Is, How to Prepare, Side Effects, Recovery & Results
2. More patients opting for close monitoring of early stage prostate cancer
3. Active Surveillance of Intermediate-Risk Prostate Cancer on the Rise
4. Trial Results Support SBRT as a Standard Option for Some Prostate Cancers – Some men receiving radiation therapy for prostate cancer can have their treatment compressed into just 5 sessions, compared with the minimum of 20 that is often used, according to results from a large clinical trial.
5. Q&A: Prostate cancer screening misconceptions common but combatable

With GivingTuesday just around the corner, we invite you to make our organization one of the charities you support on December 3rd. Your generous gift directly funds our programs in communities most in need of our support.

Call us: 888-301-4414