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GW Colonials' Basketball Coach "Gets in the Game" to Promote Prostate Cancer Screening
GW BASKETBALL FANS are used to seeing Coach Karl Hobbs on the sidelines, but this past September, Coach Hobbs, his wife Joann and Assistant Coaches Darrell Brooks and Roland Houston encouraged area men to “Get in the Game” and get tested for prostate cancer—the most commonly diagnosed nonskin cancer in men. They appeared in a local public service announcement that stressed the importance of getting annual prostate screenings and advertised free screenings offered by the GW Cancer Institute as part of Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.
The campaign was a resounding success. About 300 men were screened, with 70 percent of those men being African American. The rate of prostate cancer is twice as high in African American men as in white men and the mortality rate is three times higher. African American men are more likely to be diagnosed with more advanced-stage cancers. In fact, Washington, DC has one of the highest mortality rates from prostate cancer.
“We hit our target market and the strong response proved this was a very good program,” said Thomas Jarrett, MD, professor and chair, Department of Urology. “The number one person not getting regular medical check ups and treatment is an African American male.”
Sixteen percent of the men who were screened had a PSA reading that was four or greater and one in 10 men who were screened had an abnormal digital rectal exam (DRE). In total, eight cancers were detected in the men screened.
When prostate cancer is caught in its earliest stages, the prognosis is excellent. In fact, nearly 100 percent of men diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer survive more than five years.
The screenings were offered by GW Cancer Institute in partnership with The GW Medical Center, The GW Medical Faculty Associates, GW Athletics, The GW Hospital, WUSA TV9, Amgen Foundation, Safeway, CTIS, American Cancer Society and Qualigen.
Because the free screenings were so successful, Drs. Jarrett and Fernando J. Bianco led the effort to expand the program. Qualigen, the manufacturer of the device used to screen samples, was so pleased with the response, it gave the MFA one of its machines to facilitate future screening programs. Since the initial kickoff in September, the MFA has continued to offer free screenings every Friday.
“There is such a positive sense of what’s happening and we don’t want to let up. We don’t want to lose momentum,” said Dr. Bianco. “We screened more than 300 men in four weeks, that’s a huge number.”