off topic: breast cancer visibility versus prostate cancer

My dad is suffering from prostate cancer right now. The Milwaukee Brewers entire season was dedicated to prostate cancer awareness & raising monies for it.

Maybe it's because women are more willing to talk about and discuss breast cancer, whereas the men don't want to discuss prostate cancer? I'm just not sure.

I said the same thing today while watching the games.. 'I wonder why they don't do anything for prostate cancer' and it may just be how these others have said.. most men are not out there trying to get funding and exposure for it while women are and they also have the Susan G. Komen Foundation.. i think the men need a foundation willing to put forth the exposure.

Thanks Dawn, I'm so sorry for your loss. My Dad was diagnosed July 28, 2009 (a week after his 55th birthday). It had been in check until the week before my daughter finished her leukemia treatment (July 3, 2010), when his PSA started to rise again. It was pretty stressful having to deal with my daughter's treatments and my dad treatments at the same time. I find it interesting that Prostate Cancer Awareness month is the same month as Childhood Cancer Awareness month.

In listening to my Dad talk, he knew he was having issues for quite awhile, but was too embarrassed to go to the doctor to do anything about it. He waited until he couldn't walk anymore. The tumor metastasized from his prostate and into his spine. Which is frustrating knowing that this all could have EASILY been prevented with a simple test when he was having his first problems going to the bathroom.

Stevie, I cannot believe men are excluded from Race for Life. Men are just as affected by breast cancer as women, the can lose a loved one, or they can also get it themselves.

I am so sorry for your loss - any death from cancer is a tragedy.

I think some of the push comes from what DIDN"T happen years ago. Breast cancer at one time wasn't even studied in women, only men. Women were finding many types of inequalities that angered them and they decided to act. Maybe the pendulum will start to swing the other way.

I heard something along the same lines...that the reason why Breast Cancer gets more attention than Prostate Cancer is because women mobilize more when it comes to issues like this and because we tend to discuss these issues more than men [medical issues].

I had 2 uncles die of Prostate Cancer and I know how horrible it can be. We have very few events to raise money for this cancer and it's a shame. Maybe as women we need to "mobilize" action on this somehow. After all, it kills the men we love - fathers, brothers, husbands, sons...et al.

Great topic! This year my husband and I both did the Komen Race, both of us for the first time. When I had first moved here, I had wanted to do it and was out of town that weekend. Fast forward 6 years and I was finally in town and my work had a team so I did it! However, in that 6 years, my personal feelings toward the Komen fund/Breast Cancer awareness have become a bit resentfull.

I believe it is an incredibly worthwhile cause, and fortunately I do not know anyone that has been affected by this disease, but when everything you buy/see/hear/touch/walk past is pink--and not just in October, starting mid September to whenever--you start to feel cynical about how many people/companies actually support the cause and how many are just cashing in on people buying their pink products.

I am also someone who wants a personal reason for doing any fundraising, so I find it harder to get behind the "cure" when it is (in the words of my husband) the popular girl in high school cause.

I really hope I am not coming across as uncaring or unfeeling for those who have battled breast cancer, but to relate to the OP, my grandfather passed away from lung cancer. Even the American Lung Association doesn't give great coverage to this cancer! Yes, in many instances (including my grandpa's) it is "self caused" through smoking, but it didn't make it any easier to watch him wither away or lose the ability to even breath.

I think the point I want to make is that there are soooo many awful diseases out there and whether it is the gender who is affected (how about heart disease--a HUGE male and female problem), the lack of a "face" to attach, or just the marketing team, it will take conversations like this, and people wanting to create awareness to really get the ball moving. And I continue to hope/believe that if we find a cure for one cancer, we will be on the fast track for many other if not all cancers. So lets get out there and do it!

Thank you so much for giving us this information. Cancer is a dreaded thing. My father died in 1995 from Malignant Melanoma, and it shook my world. Cancer knows no boundries. It is horrible, and affects us all in some form or fashion. Whether it be a family member who has it, a friend, or our personal self. I agree, we all need to be aware of the different types of cancer, and it would be great to get support and financing for research for all types.

We need to be educated about the types of cancers there are, and takes steps in preventing them from happening to us. Knowledge is very important.

I'm so glad you brought this to our attention, and I will be praying that your advocacy will open the eyes and hearts for many to get involved.

God Bless

Prostate cancer doesn't get talked about for many reasons, one being that with each decade the chances of prostate cancer goes up by that percentage. In other words, if you are in your 40's there's a 40% chance you will get prostate cancer, 50's yo uhave 50% chance and that by age 100 you will either have had or have prostate cancer.

My husbands family has a history of early prostate cancer and although he is adopted his biological father sends him information on tests that can be done to see when he is at high risk of prostate cancer. His grandfather had it and his father just had his prostate removed about 2 years ago.

I agree that with such a great risk there should be more talk about what can be done to prevent it. I think it boils down to media, if the media picks it up and runs with it then it becomes the issue of the decade. Breast cancer has had a lot of media, a lot of survivors willing to go on TV and talk about their journey if you will. Men are not always as willing to share their life with people and especially on national television. Kind of how we can talk about birth control and tampons and how to make your penis larger but condoms are not advertised because it "may cause embarassment" but birth control pills and tampons, or worse yet those old summer's eve commercials don't?

When it comes to aids walks, breast cancer walks etc it takes a special group of people to kick start those, they often spend a lot of time organizing, hunting down sponsors, dealing with city and local officials for permits and finding ways to get the word out. Once this is done you have to turn around and start it all over for the next year and eventually it becomes a full time job. You might want to find out if there is a walk for prostate cancer in your area and try to help by volunteering to help during the event and to spread the word. Nobody pays attention unless someone is shouting "hey, we have a problem here" .

KNowing my husbands early risk factors it is always on my mind. I will keep those of you currently going through this process with a loved one in my thoughts and prayers and now I will go look up on active.com if there are any walks or runs for just this cause in my area and if not maybe I can be the first in my area to start spreading the word!

Pen and Teller's Bull****! did an episode about cancer research and funding. A breast cancer awareness advocate said pretty plainly that women are concerned more about breast cancer because they have the tendency to define their femininity via their breasts. So even though breast cancer is the least deadly, its what women are most afraid of getting. We may be afraid of dying, but we're more afraid of living without breasts.