Bishop Louis Spencer is a 10 year prostate cancer survivor. "Diabetes saved my life." He rarely went to the doctor, but had to have frequent blood tests for his diabetes. "There were no signs and there was no pain nothing to feel it just crept up on me."
During those tests, his doctor also checked his PSA levels, a common blood test that led to his cancer diagnosis and successful treatment.
Dr. James Mohler, Roswell Park Cancer Institute. "About 90 percent of men will be cured of their prostate cancer." His race alone, put Spencer at a higher risk.
Dr. Jacques Ganem - urologist. "Black men living in America have the highest rate of prostate cancer on the international spectrum."
Sixty percent higher, and twice as likely to die from it than any other ethnic group. Dr. James Mohler discovered a possible reason why. He found that levels of androgen receptor proteins are higher in the prostates of blacks than in whites, which may impact cancer growth. That information could help researchers develop better treatments.
Dr. James Mohler, Roswell Park Cancer Institute. "By unlocking the racial differences in prostate cancer aggressiveness will allow us to help all men with aggressive prostate cancer."
Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte is among facilities in North Carolina seeking funding for a research center for prostate cancer and its impact on African American men. The center would provide screening, treatment and followup counseling in a geographic area with one of the highest incidence of prostate cancer deaths in the country.
Spencer Lilly - President Carolinas Medical Center. "We'll have all those options, all those experts under one roof and they can consult one another to based on an individuals circumstances what works best for him."
The plan is to partner with a local university to process data. Dr. Dianne Bowels, researcher Johnson C. Smith University. "Our findings should inform policy it should set the tone for how we should address this matter in the future."
Important information for patients like Spencer, and those diagnosed in the future.
