Fans for the Cure is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to positively influencing the lives of men by organizing medical, educational, and awareness programs focused on prostate cancer.
Our Early Days
Started in 2003 by broadcaster Ed Randall after his own diagnosis of the disease, Fans for the Cure planted its roots and early efforts inside Minor League baseball stadiums, conducting summer awareness campaigns and distributing educational brochures. Called “The Baseball Road Trip,” the tour eventually expanded to over 100 games per year, thanks mainly to the hard work of the late Kelly Rodman, a Yankees scout, who worked the phones, recruited teams, and secured hundreds of volunteers each season to work tables at the games.
A New Direction
In 2015, at the urging of community and religious leaders, our Medical Advisory Board, the American Cancer Society, and our senior leadership, Fans for the Cure consciously sought to expand its reach beyond the confines of ballparks and sports arenas. Meetings with healthcare partners and a hard examination of the disease’s statistics continued to confirm a need for education and screenings among vulnerable communities in general and African-American men in particular.
Fans for the Cure has benefitted from the expansion of large comprehensive cancer centers (NYU, NewYork-Presbyterian, MSK, Northwell) into areas of boroughs that had previously been underserved medically. The charity continues to meet regularly with urology departments and community outreach staff of these institutions to explore best practices in positively impacting men’s health.
Moving Ahead
Today, Fans for the Cure has a full twelve-month schedule that includes free screenings, community health events, Women’s and Men’s Support Groups, patient advocacy, physician referrals, and an award-winning podcast.
Now in its twenty-first year, Fans for the Cure remains committed to providing support in all its forms to men and families as they face the life-changing challenges of prostate cancer.
