September marks National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. It’s the most common cancer in men in America, and is a leading cause of cancer death in men. A prostate cancer support group will meet Monday at a Wichita hospital to discuss the latest information on the disease.
Tom Hankins is a 16-year prostate cancer survivor and Outreach Director for the Wichita chapter of the education and support group Us TOO. He says the support group meetings at Via Christi St. Joseph in Wichita really enlighten men about prostate cancer.
“It’s very open, and [they] can be very graphic meetings because that’s what men want to know," Hankins says. "We have men coming like myself, and then we have some men that haven’t had surgery yet and want to know who to go to and what to expect.”
The support group meets at 7:30 p.m. on the second Monday of every month. Prostate cancer affects one in seven men. Odds increase if they are African-American or if they have a family history. There are no symptoms for prostate cancer so testing is important. If detected early, prostate cancer is often treatable.
For more information, contact Chuck Maack with Us TOO Wichita at 316-993-6997.
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Carla Eckels is assistant news director and the host of Soulsations. Follow her on Twitter @Eckels.
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