Yet to write by the Charity

The mission of the Prostate Network is to reduce the number of deaths in men due to prostate cancer (PCa).

We do this by reaching out to men, with special emphasis to African American men, to educate them about the value of early detection of PCa through early screenings and examinations for PCa. Men need to get screened for their PSA (prostate specific antigen) to increase the probability that PCa is discovered early in its growth. Early detection leads to proper treatment of PCa in its early stages which leads to a very high (95%-100%) remission rate. PCa caught early almost always leads to remission.

The Prostate Network is also dedicated to educating men who have been diagnosed with PCa on what treatment methods are available to them. Getting a diagnosis of PCa is trying for men and their families and can be a confusing time for them. We help them navigate the process of making their decision on how to choose a path to treatment by being available to them for questions and concerns they have. We are a support group in this way.

Another part of our mission is to raise awareness of PCa issues with our elected officials. We spend some of our efforts at raising awareness in Congress in Washington DC by lobbying our Senators and Representatives for greater PCa research funding. For instance, in 2018, we were part of a lobbying effort that lead to an increase in funding for PCa research from $90MM to $110MM for fiscal years 2018 to 2020.

Our current programs are:
1. Support groups that meet on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month.
2. Community outreach programs targeting underserved populations of men.
3. Free screening for PSA at community outreach programs.
4. Providing speakers to men’s groups to educate them about early detection for PCa.
5. Promotion of and participation in the Zero Cancer Run/Walk awareness annual event.
6. Partnering with Zero Cancer in the annual Washington DC Lobbying Summit.
7. Serve on the Kansas and Missouri Cancer Plan groups.
8. High visibility on Social Awareness platforms such as Facebook, and Twitter.

Our support group that meets on the 1st Wednesday of the month focuses on the emotional needs of men who are going through or have gone through PCa treatment. Our meetings have a session with the men and their significant others, together, where we discuss issues relating to our emotional well-being, followed by a break-out session where the men meet with each other and the women meet in a separate room. We find this format to be very helpful for everyone with their special emotional needs. We sometimes have speakers, too. We meet at Turning Point.

When our support group meets on the 3rd Wednesday each month, it is usually mostly the men who meet and we discuss our more physical needs, such as diagnosis issues, treatment issues, post-treatment issues, outreach issues, planning issues, listen to speakers, and generally take care of other business issues. We meet at Gilda’s Club.

The types of community outreach programs we engage in are typically health fairs held in the inner city to reach a community of underserved men, typically African American men. African American men have a significantly higher rate of contracting PCa than the population at large, so we feel it is important to serve this population of men. We also have available men who will speak to men’s groups in that community as part of our outreach program.

At some of the health fairs we attend, we offer free PSA screenings to the under-served men we meet at these health fairs. We do this in association with the Kansas City Urology Care group who provide volunteer nurses to do the blood draws.

Once a year, in early October, we team up with Zero Cancer and the Kansas City Urology Care group to stage a fund-raiser 5K Run/Walk to raise money for private PCa research programs. We do this because we want to see PCa wiped out in our lifetime and this adds another funding source to the mix.

Your financial assistance will be used to:
• Defuse the cost of PC screening, for those in need, especially the hard to reach population
• Equip survivors with educational and awareness materials
• Help cover event expenses

Zero operations cost! 100% volunteer lead organization with 100% of our funds going directly to our mission.