By Dale Avery
Reminder! September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month!
It is that time of year again – wow, howquickly a year flies by!If you have listened to my forums over the years you may remember last September I discussed Prostate Cancer Awareness month. I feel this is such an important topic for me I wanted to bring it up again.
This became important to me in 2005 when I lost my father to this disease. Over the years I have also mourned numerous friends that lost the battle to this cancer and rejoiced with others who have survived, including my father in law.
The month is designed to bring prostate cancer into focus through the following:
- Increasing public awareness of the importance of prostate health
- Providing easily accessible prostate health screenings
- Educating about risk factors and symptoms of prostate related diseases and
- Advocating for further research on prostate health issues.
What are the key statistics about prostate cancer?
Other than skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men. The American Cancer Society’s estimates for prostate cancer in the United States for 2015 are:
- About 220,800 new cases of prostate cancer
- About 27,540 deaths from prostate cancer
- About 1 man in 7 will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime.
- Prostate cancer occurs mainly in older men. About 6 cases in 10 are diagnosed in men aged 65 or older, and it is rare before age 40. The average age at the time of diagnosis is about 66.
- Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in American men, behind only lung cancer. About 1 man in 38 will die of prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer can be a serious disease, but most men diagnosed with prostate cancer do not die from it. In fact, more than 2.9 million men in the United States who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point are still alive today.
I feel this information is important to share again and to keep sharing. I plan to speak about prostate cancerwith all my family, friends and co-workers, and anyone who will listen. Men, I know you don’t like to go to doctors, but you need to if you are at risk. Women, if your man does not want to go, make him.
I hope this information helps you and others dealing with this disease. Let’s make sure when I write this next year we cut down on all the statistics.
Dale Avery, CPCU, is the assistant vice president – Enterprise Services at State Farm® Corporate Headquarters in Bloomington, Ill.
Avery began his career with State Farm in 1982 as a personal lines underwriter in Lincoln, Nebraska and assumed his current position in 2006. Avery, a native of Missouri, received his bachelor’s degree from Central Missouri State University. He earned his CPCU in 1991.
Dale resides in Bloomington with his wife, Laura and their two daughters; Megan and Jenna.
The opinions expressed within WJBC’s Forum are solely those of the Forum’s author, and are not necessarily those of WJBC or Cumulus Media, Inc.
