Virgin Tour de USA?

Hello All: I'm still working on generating some interest in the Prostate Cancer Tour de USA in 2010. The good news is that we have received our formal "Tour de USA" trademark registration from the US Patent Office. The bad news is that we still are challenged in getting men to think about testing annually for the Number Two cancer killer of men, and in getting companies interesting in engaging with us. That said, we continue to save lives one man at a time as we talk to men about the disease.

I just submitted the Tour de USA for consideration as one of the Virgin Group's "Virgin Unite" charity initiatives. It would be great to have Richard Branson ride a segment with us.

The 2010 ride will go from statehouse-to-statehouse and we need volunteers to make arrangements for those stops. So, it you have a few minutes and the desire to help, check out the route in our previous post and send us an email to see how you can help.

Prostate Cancer Screening. Doing More Harm Than Good?

Following is a link to a recent Reader's Digest article on cancer screening. (http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id2942490/) The article summarizes some current thinking that too much screening causes unnecessary treatment of cancers that will never become life threatening. The author cites the views of a Veterans Affairs doctor that takes this view concerning prostate cancer. While I am not a physician, I am a five year prostate cancer survivor who is still here because of an accidental diagnosis of Stage 2 prostate cancer. Since 29,000 men die annually in the US from prostate cancer (that is almost 300,000 men each decade), I find the argument that there is too much screening difficult to accept. What is leads me to believe is that our screening programs and regimes are not sufficiently widespread and effective. I have yet to find any database that shows the following minimal data for each annual cohort of prostate cancer deaths: 1) age at diagnosis; 2) state at diagnosis; 3) method of diagnosis; 4) treatment regime; 5) age at mortality; 6) % experiencing erectile or incontinence issues. Until we have that data, it would seem to be difficult to argue on either side of the screening controversy. As a prostate cancer survivor, though, I think I would argue for a more widespread screening program (only 51% of men currently test). Personally, I would prefer to live an additional 5 - 10 years even if I did so with some degree of incontinence or erectile dysfunction, and I know my wife feels the same. I would love to hear your comments.

First Post

This blog will chronicle my journey through life with prostate cancer as my wingman. I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December 2002, and underwent radical prostatectomy in May 2003. Since then, I have continued my business life and created a small non-profit, the Prostate Cancer Awareness Project, to get men to test annually. The past five years have been interesting ones, and I have decided to create this blog to post my thoughts for those that are following in my footsteps and those of the men who have preceded me. The blog name, 29,000 Men, refers to the approximate number of men that die each year in the United States from prostate cancer. I look forward to engaging with you.