DECEMBER 2024

As we near the end of 2024, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for so many of you who continue to show up for us. And by showing up, I mean attending our events, encouraging us with notes, phone calls and kind words, and generously donating to our programs that support men and families who must deal with the complicated challenges that come with a diagnosis of prostate cancer. 

Because of friends and supporters like you, we have been able to grow and staff our community outreach initiative, ensuring that Fans for the Cure has boots on the ground at health fairs, food pantries, barbershops, and churches – places where we can engage men where they live. 

Two cities have us truly excited for 2025 – Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Worcester, Massachusetts. Both cities’ Minor League teams and medical partners have pushed to expand previous years’ awareness and education efforts to include PSA blood tests in medically-underserved communities within the teams’ home cities. 

The Catch for the Cure program will enter its third year, with 30 Catches in 30 Days on the calendar for both June and September next year. The first catch of the new year will once again take place on Super Bowl Sunday (February 9) at a location TBA in Westchester County, New York. Fingers crossed for 53 degrees again this year.     

More information about the Catch for the Cure schedule, as well as the complete calendar of 2025 community outreach, will be available on our website as the dates are officially booked by event organizers.    

From all of us at Fans for the Cure, happy, healthy, and safe holidays to our supporters and friends who make possible everything we do. We look forward to seeing you at as many of our events as possible in 2025. 

Kind regards,

Ed Randall
Founder + Chief Advocacy Officer
Fans for the Cure

On this month’s special series of the Stay in the Game podcast, Dr. Stacy Loeb (NYU Langone Health/NYU Grossman School of Medicine) and host Karen Shaffer discuss a recent survey developed by a team of NYU researchers to assess and quantify sexual health/quality of life issues among women in relationships with partners who are experiencing prostate cancer. 

The hope, according to Dr. Loeb, is for clinicians to use the survey to both identify issues with sex lives impacted by prostate cancer and “determine what support services could be useful.” 

The Messiah Baptist Church will be holding its third Lunch & Learn Seminar on Prostate Cancer at the Yonkers Riverfront Library.

Speakers will include Harold McKoy Sr., Chairman of the Men’s Ministry and Coordinator of the Seminar, and Dr. Michael Feuerstein, MD, Chief of Urology at NewYork Presbyterian – Westchester. Fans for the Cure will be staffing a table, distributing educational materials (and hats, for as long as they last), and answering questions. 

The event will take place on Saturday, January 18, from 10-1 at the Yonkers Public Library, One Larkin Center, Yonkers, NY. The library is located across the street from the Yonkers Metro North Train Station.

For more information, please write to us at [email protected] or call (914) 375-7940.  

No year-end summary would be complete without again thanking our wonderful friends at Monroe Township (N.J.) Senior Softball for their highly successful fundraiser on August 22. The event included a home run derby, an all-star game, and a classic menu of hot dogs, burgers, and sides. 

Thanks, too, to league president Bob Zyontz and an incredible team of hard-working (and exceptionally nice) people, this was an event we wished would never end. And neither did the participants in the all-star game, who played three or four additional innings because….well, it was a perfect evening, and no one wanted to go home.

Thanks to the organizers, the players, the volunteers, and the spectators. And to the folks who chose Fans for the Cure as the fortunate recipient of the funds raised on this magical evening. 

Fans for the Cure is planning to hold an online Caregivers Seminar and an evening reception in New York City to call attention to National Caregiver Appreciation Day on Monday, March 3.

The March 3 events will also shine a light on the charity’s Online Women’s/Caregivers Support Group, which have been taking place twice monthly on Zoom since 2020 for spouses and life partners of men who are dealing with prostate cancer. There are over 175 women registered for this community, which is moderated by Karen Shaffer. 

For more information about activities we are planning for March 3 around caregivers awareness, please visit our website or write to us at [email protected]

The ActiveSurveillor.com will be holding its first special event for subscribers-only on Saturday, January 4, from 12:00 p.m. (noon) until 1:30 p.m.

Speakers/presenters for “Active Surveillance 2025” will include: 

• Jonathan Epstein, MD, former chief pathologist at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, one of the world's leading pathologists. Epstein, now based in New York, will be making his first appearance before a patient audience in almost two years
• Brian Helfand, MD, PhD, chief of urology at NorthShore University HealthSystem outside Chicago, an expert not only in prostate cancer but also in molecular biology.
• Christian Pavlovich, MD, who runs the Active Surveillance program at Johns Hopkins and recently co-authored a major study on diet.
• Timothy Showalter, MD, MPH, medical director of Artera AI, which has made news with its prostate test to help patients decide whether to go on AS.

The Active Surveillor founder and tireless advocate for men’s health, Howard Wolinsky, has generously opened the doors and offered free access to this important session to Fans for the Cure. The link for free registration is:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYkf-iupjwjEtTHf_y7OOJigw5VhMZXRfQM#/registration

Please direct any questions or issues with the link to Howard Wolinsky at [email protected].

Many thanks to Howard for making this exciting learning opportunity available to friends of Fans for the Cure. 

Fans for the Cure thanks a long list of friends, supporters, and donors who make our programs possible.

We also thank our many healthcare partners, who were generous beyond words with the most precious resource of all – their free time. On so many occasions, urologists and urologic oncologists answered the call to make presentations at community events, church seminars, and support groups. Or to reach out to men we knew were dealing with the anxieties that come with an elevated PSA score or a new diagnosis.   

Thanks, too, to our corporate sponsors and underwriters, including Bayer, which has underwritten the production costs related to all 2025 Men’s and Women’s Caregivers’ Support Groups.

Companies or individuals wishing to discuss sponsorship opportunities for 2025 (and 2026) programs should write to Fans for the Cure at [email protected]. 

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

Men's Support Group

• Thursday, December 26 at 7:00 PM ET – Register for the Men's Support Group meeting. 
• Thursday, January 9 at 7 PM ET

Women's Support Group

• Tuesday, January 7 at 8 PM ET – Register for the Women's Support Group meeting.
• Tuesday, January 21 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. PSA bounce: understanding temporal fluctuations in prostate cancer after external radiotherapy.
2. VIDEO: Cancer Imaging and the Future of Prostate Cancer Care
3. Dogs team up with AI to sniff out cancer – including prostate cancer
4. Blogging for Prostate Cancer – published by our colleagues at Cancer Health.
5. Understanding Prostate Cancer Treatment Side Effects Is Key

As we look to the year ahead, we turn to you to ask for your assistance in funding our work in 2025. Your gift will enable us to reach men in communities most in need of our programs.

Call us: 888-301-4414