More than 31,000 men die of prostate cancer every year. It's one of the leading causes of cancer death among men. Cancer researchers with University of Iowa Health Care hope a new study will lead to an approach that may prevent this disease.
Doctors diagnosed nearly 180,000 new cases of prostate cancer in 2000. A nationwide study is under way that could bring new hope to men at risk for prostate cancer.
Like most men his age, Tom Shepherd is concerned about prostate cancer. He decided to do something about it and enrolled in SELECT - the selenium and vitamin e cancer prevention trial. The National Cancer Institute leads the study, enrolling more than 32,000 men nationwide. Tom will be seen by specialists at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
"Personally, you get a checkup all the time. And it's the kind of thing you should stay on top of. So it's a win-win situation I think," says Shepherd.
Men over the age of 55 and African-American men over 50 are being sought for the 12-year study. The Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at The University of Iowa is one of 400 medical centers conducting the research.
"We need people who are willing to learn for themselves but who are also willing to help not only their children and grandchildren, but other people's children and grandchildren," says Richard Williams, M.D., UI Health Care Urologist.
For Shepherd, the decision to enroll was easy. "It's one of those kind of things that if I can help provide some kind of an answer - great!"
"And the question is," asks Williams," can we prevent it from ever occurring in the first place, so they're not at risk for the treatments that have some side effects, or death, from the disease?"
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