Cleveland campaign kicks off to get Black men screened for prostate cancer

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Specialty Networks kicked off a campaign to help in the fight against prostate cancer in the minority community.

“An unfortunate statistic is for every non-Black man who dies of prostate cancer, two Black men will die of prostate cancer,” said David Coury, CEO of Specialty Networks. “The death rate is double for Black men.”

A breakfast meeting at the Hilton featured leaders of the Black community to try to put a game plan together for education, access, and awareness.

“Awareness is so important and that’s why I’m trying to get everybody to understand how important it is,” said Austin Carr, former Cleveland Cavaliers star and current broadcaster.

Prostate cancer is treatable if caught early, but the key is screening. The campaign has set a goal of getting 5,000 Black men screened.

“If we’re able to screen 5,000 Black men, we’re going to find 7- or 800 of those will be positive with prostate cancer,” said Coury. “And wouldn’t it be amazing if 400 of them go to treatment? We save or better 400 lives?”

Prostate cancer is the No. 1 diagnosed cancer in men with one-in-nine testing positive at some point.

For Black man, it’s one-in-seven. Doctors also recommend Black men get screened sooner, starting at age 40.

“To me, it’s something all Black men should be aware of,” Carr concluded.

Coury summed it up: “You don’t have to die from prostate cancer.”

Copyright 2022 WOIO. All rights reserved.