FEBRUARY 2025

As we step into March, we at Fans for the Cure are reminded of the indispensable role caregivers play in the journey against prostate cancer. In honor of National Caregiver Appreciation Day on March 3, we are hosting a special webinar and reception to recognize and support these unsung heroes. We invite you to join us in celebrating their unwavering dedication and exploring ways to better assist them in their essential roles. More on streaming the webinar and attending the reception is provided below.

Looking ahead, our team is diligently scheduling a series of spring community health events across New York City, Westchester County, Long Island and New Jersey. These events will offer educational resources, support in accessing quality diagnosis and treatment, and opportunities to engage with healthcare professionals and advocates for advice and counsel in dealing with prostate cancer.

In these challenging times for non-profit organizations, your financial support is more crucial than ever. Contributions from generous individuals like you enable us to sustain and expand our programs, directly impacting the lives of those affected by prostate cancer. As our outreach extends to more communities and populations in need of our services, your support fuels our mission and brings hope to many.

Thank you for your continued commitment to Fans for the Cure. Together, we can make a profound difference in the lives of men and families navigating the considerable challenges of prostate cancer.

Warm regards,

Ed Randall
Founder + Chief Advocacy Officer
Fans for the Cure

In statistics released late last month, the American Cancer Society estimated the following for prostate cancer in the United States for 2025:

• About 313,780 new cases of prostate cancer
• About 35,770 deaths from prostate cancer
• About 1 in every 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetimes
• Average age at diagnosis is about 67 years old

From the ACS website: The number of prostate cancers diagnosed each year declined sharply from 2007-2014, coinciding with fewer men being screened because of changes in screening recommendations (note – via U.S. Preventive Services Task Force). Since 2014, the incidence rate has increased by 3% per year.  

The ACS’s new report, Cancer Statistics for African American and Black People – 2025, brings a measure of both good news and mixed statistics. Despite cancer mortality rates falling 49% among Black men and 33% among Black women since 1991, Black Americans bear a far heavier cancer burden than all other ethnic groups. For prostate cancer, this means a 70% higher risk for the diagnosis and twice the risk of dying from the disease.  

In the words of Rebecca Siegel, Senior Scientific Director, Surveillance Research at the American Cancer Society, and senior author of the report: “This population persistently experiences a much higher mortality burden than other racial and ethnic groups for many cancers. We must reverse course.”

For additional statistics, go to cancer.org or click on the light blue button below.

The charity will mark National Caregiver Appreciation Day with a daytime webinar, followed by an evening reception in New York City. 

The webinar will be hosted by Dr. Allison Applebaum, who will be sharing content from Stand By Me, A Guide to Navigating Modern, Meaningful Caregiving, her best-selling book that explores both her personal and professional experiences with caregiving and as a care partner.   

Our Chairman of the Board, Steve Garvey, will be joining us in person at the evening reception to share his thoughts on the true unsung heroes in our lives – the spouses, partners, friends, and professionals who embrace the role of caregivers. Copies of Dr. Applebaum’s book, Stand By Me, will be available free of charge at the reception, thanks to the generosity of our event underwriters.   

Here is the URL for Dr. Applebaum’s webinar, which will be available for streaming after 1 p.m. EST on Monday, March 3. 

fansforthecure.org/caregiversupport

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For those who are interested in attending the March 3 reception in New York City (5:30 to 8:30 p.m.), please email us at [email protected]. (Space is limited.) 

While there is no charge, we gratefully welcome donations to support the ongoing mission of Fans for the Cure. Your generous contributions enable us to continue providing crucial resources, education, and support to care partners as they deal with prostate cancer. To make a financial contribution, please click on the donate button below.

Best-selling author, lecturer, entrepreneur, and inspirational speaker, Chip Conley, will be joining us on Thursday, March 6, at our regular start time of 7 p.m. EST. 

To register for this meeting, please go to: https://fansforthecure.org/online-mens-support-group/

Chip founded the Modern Elder Academy (MEA), which is “dedicated to reframing the concept of aging and support(ing) students as they navigate midlife with a renewed sense of purpose and possibility.”

In advance of the publication of Learning to Love Midlife: 12 Reasons Why Life Gets Better with Age (January 2024), Chip was asked to give a TED talk (his third on the big stage) on the topic of “midlife chrysalis.” 

Chip Conley: chipconley.com

Modern Elder Academy: meawisdom.com

Modern Elder Academy: World’s Greatest Places – time.com/6992308/modern-elder-academy

Fans for the Cure has released three new videos to its Brand Assets page, including a 32-second call-to-action that stresses the importance of early detection and urges men to get a PSA test. This is in addition to the charity’s popular video featuring Negro Leagues Baseball Museum President, Bob Kendrick, and former MLB star (and Fans for the Cure’s current Chairman), Steve Garvey. 

The new videos are hosted by Fans for the Cure’s Women’s Support Group Moderator and Community Outreach Director, Karen Shaffer. The call-to-action video will be shared with all MLB and Minor League teams for their ballpark video boards, websites, and season-long social media campaigns. 

We have also posted these three videos on our YouTube channel:

• 30-second Shaffer Get-Tested video
• 60-second Shaffer Community PSA video 
• 90-second Shaffer Community PSA video

For our partners interested in sharing these new materials with your key audiences, please visit the the Brand Assets page on our website. 

PBS travel guide and host Rick Steves has posted on social media a candid and unabridged account of his prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Full marks to Rick and his medical team for sharing this level of personal detail about his case with the general public, which includes his many thousands of fans and followers.

Beginning with the March newsletter (March 25), we will begin publishing a spring and summer schedule of community awareness, educational, and screening events in each monthly newsletter. An updated and current schedule will also be added to our website in late March.

In addition to health fairs in the New York area, the charity has already confirmed screenings in June (National Men’s Health Month) with the New York Mets, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Kernels.

We hope to see you at one or more of our community events in 2025.

Chicago Event Honoring Fergie Jenkins & Dr. William J. Catalona – April 21, 2025 

Welcome Home, Dave Sims – Midtown Manhattan Location TBD – June 19, 2025

Visionary Dinner (November) – Per Se Restaurant

Special Concert TBD (December) 

For more information on sponsoring, underwriting or attending any or all the events listed above, please email us 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, March 6 at 7 PM ET – Register for the Men's Support Group meeting. 
• Thursday, March 20 at 7 PM ET

Women's Support Group

• Tuesday, March 4 at 8 PM ET – Register for the Women's Support Group meeting.
• Tuesday, March 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.

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. Study challenges role of BRCA1 mutation in prostate cancer initiation
2. Emerging Concepts and Recommendations for MRI in Prostate Cancer Screening – Researchers offer insights on current considerations with prostate MRI and discussed keys to its effective use in screening for prostate cancer.
3. New urine test detects 92% of aggressive prostate cancers – The headline links to an article about the study. The study itself was published in the Journal of Urology.
4. VIDEO: Alicia Morgans, MD, MPH, on physician awareness of PSA doubling time in prostate cancer – "We found that actually, many, many physicians were not reporting PSA doubling time," says Dr. Morgans.
5. Butterfly wings inspire new imaging technique for cancer diagnosis – Using the nanostructures found on butterfly wings, scientists have developed a simple and inexpensive way to analyze cancerous tissues.

In advance of National Caregiver Appreciation Day, we turn to you to ask for your assistance in meeting our funding needs. Your gift is critical to our efforts to support the prostate cancer community.

Call us: 888-301-4414