I just heard the shocking, but not really surprising news that only 28 members of the House of Representatives have signed onto the appropriations request letter this year for the funding of the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program for Prostate Cancer.

If you have not already seen it, Zero, The Project to End Prostate Cancer, is making a late push in Washington to see if we cannot convince some additional Members to call the subcommittee or write a late letter on their own. You should go to Zero’s action alert and press your member of congress to make this call – the action alert is available at www.capwiz.com/zerocancer. Please do this.

In contrast, the Ovarian Cancer Alliance managed to get 84 Reps to sign their letter for increased funding for the Ovarian Cancer Research Project at the DOD. Guess which cancer will lose research money and who is going to gain research dollars?

Personally, I have become very frustrated by our lack of response. Prostate cancer survivors (you), your family members, your partners and your friends have not taken the time or made the effort!

Personally, I have become very frustrated by the stubborn inclination of many of our advocates to allow the PSA debate to define prostate cancer. Breast cancer has not been defined by the mammogram debate which exactly parallels the PSA question. The women have not taken the bait, instead they stay on message, breast cancer kills. When was the last time, other than my few tantrums, that we have heard that prostate cancer kills?

We need to move back to the basics, prostate cancer kills, it kills 27,000 of us every year. That needs to be our message and we need to shout this message so that it is heard in throughout the halls of congress.

Go to: www.capwiz.com/zerocancer now. Get your friends and families to go to: www.capwiz.com/zerocancer.

Joel T Nowak, MA< MSW