September is Prostate Cancer Awareness month and many organizations that are involved with education and support of men (and their families) who have prostate cancer are scheduled to have programs during the month. There are a number of events that I want to let you know about (perhaps you will attend):

September 6-8
The Prostate Cancer Research Institute (PCRI) is holding their 2013 Prostate Cancer Conference in Los Angeles, California. This is the only patient education conference about prostate cancer that I am aware happens on a regular basis. This conference features a number of different doctors/researchers presenting educational sessions in their area of extertise as well as case presentations with discussion and support groups (I will be running the Advanced Prostate Cancer Group). Information and registration information is available at:

September 17-18
ZERO, the Project to End Prostate Cancer holds their annual Prostate Cancer Summit in Washington, DC. The goal of the program is to give a quick educational session on how to advocate with your congressional representatives and then turn you loose on your representatives. Registration and information available at:

September 19-20
PHEN is holding their 9th Annual African American Prostate Cancer Conference, co-sponsored with the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington, DC. To register CLICK HERE. On Thursday morning, as a part of the program Dr. Channing J Paller will discuss her proposed Start A Cure (www.StartACure.com) Research Project about Eliminating Mistakes in Prostate Cancer Diagnosis. After her presentation I will give a brief presentation about the Start A Cure Research Funding Program.

Additionally, there is a two-part free workshop series from CancerCare on “Living with Metastatic Prostate Cancer.” Part-one is on September 10th at 1:30 pm EDT. Registration is at http://www.cancercare.org/connect_workshops.

Another free online seminar, “Advances in Prostate Cancer Radiation Therapy,” is on September 18th at 7:00 pm EDT. Johns Hopkins’ radiation oncologists Theodore DeWeese, MD and Danny Song, MD will be discussing advanced options that increase the effectiveness of treatment while reducing side effects. More information can be found at: www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthseminars.

There are many other prostate cancer programs during the month. If you let me know about them I will post them on the blog.

Joel T. Nowak, M.A., M.S.W.