NOVEMBER 2023

#GivingTuesday presents us all with an ideal opportunity to support those organizations whose missions and daily body of work are close to our hearts. As we mark our twentieth year in service to the prostate cancer community, I ask that you consider supporting Fans for the Cure’s fundraising efforts.

Big News: the charity is understandably honored to announce Guitars for the Cure: An Evening with John Pizzarelli & Bernie Williams. These talented and generous musicians are joining forces for what promises to be a truly exciting concert next month in New York City. All proceeds will benefit the core programs of Fans for the Cure, especially our 2024 community outreach initiatives. Stay tuned for ticket information later in the week.

Finally, we are sharing photos and details from a memorable evening in Chicago, where we honored Andre Dawson and Dr. Chris Gonzalez. We are also highlighting a successful Veterans Day health and screening event we helped to produce at the Cradle of Aviation Museum, in partnership with the Museum and Catholic Health.

Thank you, as always, for your encouragement and support of everything we do.

Kind regards,

Ed Randall
Founder + Chief Advocacy Officer
Fans for the Cure

With #GivingTuesday, friends of Fans for the Cure have an opportunity to demonstrate their support for the prostate cancer community by donating to our organization.

Serving men and their families as they journey with prostate cancer, Fans for the Cure relies on donations to fund our programs:

• Online men's support group for men at all stages of their prostate cancer journeys
• Online women's support group for women and caregivers, as they walk the journey with their husbands and partners
• Medical referrals for men seeking second (or third) opinions about their diagnosis and treatment options
• In-person awareness events and health screenings delivered in partnership with our medical care partners
• Corporate and community educational seminars, raising awareness and teaching audiences about the importance of early and regular testing for prostate cancer – as well as highlighting new advancements in diagnosis and treatment options
• Stay in the Game podcast, a highly-ranked show in its field, featuring doctors, researchers, caregivers, and athletes/celebrities in discussions about key issues in prostate cancer.

We invite you to give today so that Fans for the Cure can continue to deliver and enhance these important programs.

The Online Women's Support Group recently welcomed special guest, Dr. Jordan Pauker, Psy.D. to a group meeting.

A licensed psychologist and prostate cancer survivor, Dr. Pauker shared unique perspectives about the emotional turmoil caused by a disease that affects so many of us. He provided recommendations and strategies for effective communications related to prostate cancer, both with our partners and with close friends and family members. Dr. Pauker also took time to answer general questions from the women on the call.

Catholic Health, the Cradle of Aviation Museum, and Fans for the Cure joined forces on Veterans Day to offer free health screenings and PSA tests for all veterans. The Museum offered free admission to its gallery from 10-5 for all veterans plus a guest. 

Many thanks to Catholic Health, which provided an onsite physician, a team of nurses, IT specialists, and phlebotomists to conduct the PSA screenings. Also, a large thank you to Andy Parton and his staff from the Cradle of Aviation Museum. 

We also extend our heartfelt thanks to QuackerJack for lighting up the Museum with his presence and entertaining attendees of all ages. QuackerJack is the beloved mascot of the Long Island Ducks, a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and based in Central Islip, New York.

On November 1, Fans for the Cure took its show on the road – namely to the iconic Smith & Wollensky in Chicago – to pay tribute to two longtime supporters of the charity and leaders of their respective communities. 

Former Cubs’ star and Hall of Famer, Andre Dawson, and Christopher Gonzalez, MD, MBA, FACS and chair of the Department of Urology of Loyola Medicine and Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, were the evening’s honorees.  

The highlights of the event were the spoken remarks shared by Dr. Gonzalez and Mr. Dawson, both invoking the early days of Fans for the Cure and the importance of screening and early detection. Dawson recalled the one of the charity’s visits to spring training giving him the courage and the platform to openly discuss his recent diagnosis with members of the team he was then coaching.  

Many thanks to our local supporters and sponsors, including Loyola Medicine, Marquee Sports, the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago White Sox, Eddie Olyczyk, Jack Boyce, and Steve Hoekstra.

Fans for the Cure and Montefiore Einstein will conduct a day of PSA screenings for all employees and retired employees of the City of New Rochelle (New York) on Thursday, December 7 from 12:30 PM – 5:30 PM. The screenings will take place at New Rochelle City Hall, 515 North Avenue. Write to [email protected] with any questions about this screening event.  

A busy month of November wrapped up the scheduled events (over thirty) that were part of Fans for the Cure’s grant commitment with Molloy University. We thank our partners at Molloy for coordinating and staffing their mobile screening unit to provide health exams and testing in medically-underresourced communities throughout Long Island between February and late November. Our charity was honored to be part of this important initiative and to have had the opportunity to discuss prostate cancer with, and offer screenings to, hundreds of men.

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

Men's Support Group

• Thursday, November 30 at 7 PM ET – Special Guests – Molecular Profiling: Caris Life Sciences’ Senior Medical Director, Norm Smith, MD, and Molecular Science Liaison, Sachein Sharma, MD, MPH, will present and discuss the essentials of molecular profiling specific to prostate cancers and highlight how precision oncology helps select the right treatment for the right patient at the right time. Register for the Men's Support Group meeting. 
• Thursday, December 14 at 7 PM ET

Women's Support Group

• Tuesday, December 5 – Register for the Women's Support Group meeting
• Tuesday, December 18 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.

Through our community programs, health events, and local and national outreach, we have established an extensive network of leading urologists, oncologists, and medical professionals with whom we have established relationships and whom we trust with medical referrals.

Should you be seeking a medical referral, we are happy to help connect you with doctors in all areas of the country for testing, second opinions, and guidance explaining treatment options.

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. Alicia Morgans, MD, on Prostate Cancer in Older Men – Determining frailty or fitness will help guide treatment decisions
2. First Patient Receives Antibody-based Prostate Cancer Treatment TLX591 – The first patient has received TLX591, an antibody-based treatment for PSMA-positive metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer.
3. A Full Body Scan: The Reality of a Cancer Diagnosis – "I see a psychologist who is helping me to understand my feelings and to learn mindfulness meditation techniques."
4. VIDEO: A Prostate Cancer Video About Rising PSA After Prostatectomy – published by our colleagues at CancerHealth.com.
5. VIDEO: The influence of patient health literacy in prostate cancer treatment choice

We invite you to take a few moments to make a donation to Fans for the Cure on this #GivingTuesday. Your gift goes directly to held fund our work in the prostate cancer community. Thank you for your generosity!

Call us: 888-301-4414