Cancer is not about colored ribbons or doing walkathons. For us, it’s about fighting death. We need medical science to progress. We need funding for research for a cure or for a tolerable way to manage cancer, till we die from something else.
Advocacy is a way we fight for the health care resources, available today, and for research to create treatments that we might use, tomorrow. Malecare advocates for health care in a variety of ways. We started a national holiday, Men’s Health Night. Our volunteers sit on the boards of several national and local nonprofits and government agencies. We help facilitate various collaborations between nonprofits, such as the Committee for Fair Visitation Rights and the Prostate Cancer Roundtable. We present to government agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration. We consult with a variety of local, state and federal politicians. And, we engage you.
You are the engine of advocacy, the voice of survivors and the creator of our agenda. You tell us where we should be fighting. And we listen.
Please sign the Petition to Make Prostate Cancer a National Priority at http://www.prostatecancerpetition.org
Please sign the Bone Marrow Donor Petition at http://www.bonemarrowpetition.org
Learn more about the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation against prostate specific antigen (PSA) based screening for prostate cancer, by William J. Catalona, MD .
Please sign up for advocacy alerts and calls to action
I agree with the advocacy statement. However, public perception and awareness is often built upon whipping up sometimes inane activities such as walkathons and selling candy. The events may be on the news, people notice and dialogue is encouraged- sometimes leading to donations and self-awareness. Prostate cancer for years has not been an open discussion issue with men. They are reluctant to discuss the condition of a sexual organ and may be too macho to go to any physician. Sometimes men are goaded into action by their female loved one. We must break this male psychological barrier which often extends to other diseases and conditions.