Celebrating Men’s Health Week: Racial Disparities in Black Men with Prostate Cancer
June 10, 2024
National Men’s Health Week begins today, June 10th, and takes place through June 16th. This week is celebrated to promote men taking care of their health and raise awareness of health issues among men worldwide. The encouragement of early detection and treatment of disease is especially important when considering the disproportionate rate at which Black men are diagnosed with and die from prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men. Black men are twice as likely to die from prostate cancer than white men, and more likely to get prostate cancer and die from it than any other men, including other men of color. One in six Black men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.
In April 2024, the Prostate Cancer Foundation made efforts to close the gap in a publication to NEJM Evidence (Garraway et al., 2024), issuing new guidelines that recommend for Black men to consider earlier screening for prostate cancer, starting between the ages of 40 and 45.
During Men’s Health Week, we encourage a proactive approach to men’s health issues to close these gaps, and dedication to providing ample education to men, boys and their families regarding their health.
References
Garraway, I. P., Carlsson, S. V., Nyame, Y. A., Vassy, J. L., Chilov, M., Fleming, M., Frencher, S. K., George, D. J., Kibel, A. S., King, S. A., Kittles, R., Mahal, B. A., Pettaway, C. A., Rebbeck, T., Rose, B., Vince, R., Winn, R. A., Yamoah, K., & Oh, W. K. (2024). Prostate Cancer Foundation screening guidelines for Black men in the United States. NEJM Evidence, 3(5). https://doi.org/10.1056/evidoa2300289
