Gloucester County Freeholder Jim Lavender was presented with a proclamation identifying September as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month at the Woolwich Township Committee Meeting on Sept. 8. Woolwich resident Joe Musumeci, a prostate cancer survivor and Facilitator for the FIGHTING MEN Fighting CANCER prostate cancer support group, accepted the proclamation on behalf of all men dealing with this disease. Woolwich Mayor Vern Marino also made the same proclamation for Woolwich Township.
The proclamation states that one in nine men will be diagnosed with this disease and one in six African American men and one in five veterans will be diagnosed. It emphasizes that early detection is critical as men diagnosed early have almost a 100 percent five year survival rate, but men diagnosed after the cancer has spread beyond the prostate (metastasized) have only a 29 percent chance of surviving five years.
Musumeci pointed out that there is currently no known cure for prostate cancer, although there are several different types of treatments to help control it. Approximately one third of men who are treated for prostate cancer will have the cancer recur and will need further treatment.
He also stated that after a study that stated that PSA tests caused too many false positives resulting in biopsies which did not find cancer was released, doctors were reluctant to order routine PSA tests. That caused the increase in prostate cancer deaths while almost every other type of cancer is experiencing a decrease.
He asked that every man over 50 and any man over 40 who has a family history of prostate or breast cancer get a PSA test at least annually. If your insurance won’t cover the test, go to https://zerocancer.org/test-centers/ There you will see about a dozen places in New Jersey that offer free PSA tests.
FIGHTING MEN Fighting CANCER is a prostate cancer support group for patients, survivors, and caregivers that meets monthly (via ZOOM during the pandemic). For more information about the group contact Joe Musumeci @ joe4seeds@gmail.com. ZERO-the END of Prostate Cancer is a non-profit organization whose mission is to help find a cure for prostate cancer so future generations won’t have to deal with it. Eighty six percent of the funds raised by the organization go directly to education and support for prostate cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers.
