PHILADELPHIA (October 10, 2010) – Fox Chase Cancer Center has received a grant from The Philadelphia Foundation’s Lola E. Douglass and Margaret E. Demment funds to launch Prostate REACH, a new initiative aimed at making Fox Chase’s existing Prostate Cancer Risk Assessment Program more accessible to high-risk men through convenient community locations and patient navigation services.
Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed and second most deadly cancer among males in Pennsylvania. At particularly high-risk are Caucasian and Hispanic men with a family history of the disease, as well as African-American men, who are twice as likely to develop the disease based on race alone and over six times as likely if they have a family history.
Prostate REACH will increase opportunities for men in these high-risk groups to participate in the Prostate Cancer Risk Assessment Program by providing two new services—community screening and assistance with completing the enrollment and follow-up process.
“These new services are an important addition to the existing program that we offer to men who are at high-risk for prostate cancer,” says Veda Giri, MD, a medical oncologist from Fox Chase who serves as co-investigator for the project with Linda Fleisher, MPH, assistant vice president of Fox Chase’s Office of Health Communications and Health Disparities. “By making screenings more accessible, we are increasing the likelihood of including more at-risk men into the program and detecting the disease in its early stages.”
Community screenings will be held periodically in convenient neighborhood locations using Fox Chase’s mobile screening van. Men who are not able to come to Fox Chase Cancer Center will find all the same services on the van that they would find at the Center.
“If we can make the experience easier by addressing barriers such as transportation and filling out forms, we can help more high-risk men take advantage of this program,” Fleisher says.
Eligibility for the Prostate Cancer Risk Assessment Program and Prostate REACH includes high-risk men ages 35-69. To enroll in the program, or for more information, please call Fox Chase’s Risk Assessment Program at 1-877-627-9684.
The Philadelphia Foundation, a public charity, is Southeastern Pennsylvania’s leading center for community philanthropic engagement and is committed to improving the quality of life in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties through funds established by its donors. Established in 1918, The Philadelphia Foundation continues to help donors harness their generosity and vision by providing tools, knowledge and financial stewardship directed to maximize the strategic impact of charitable contributions. Grants from more than 776 charitable funds strengthen the effectiveness of nonprofits and support programs that are vital to the people of this region.