Senator Flanagan Thanks Stony Brook University For Their Efforts To Fight Prostate Cancer

Senator John Flanagan (2nd Senate District) recently presented a New York State Senate Proclamation to the Stony Brook University Medical Center’s Department of Urology for their dedication to helping fight prostate cancer.  He presented the honor to Dr. Howard L. Adler, who is the Medical Director of the Prostate Care Program, during a recent visit to their facility in Setauket.

In September, for the second year in a row, Senator Flanagan joined with the department to offer a free screening program to commemorate Prostate Cancer Awareness week.  This event, which covered four evenings of free exams, was part of the department’s outreach efforts which have provided screenings at fire stations, churches, libraries, senior centers, police precincts and regional clinics throughout the community.

“The men and women of the Prostate Cancer Program provide an invaluable service to our community and I thank them all for their dedication and their professionalism.  While it is my pleasure to help them spread the word about the need to get tested, it is their work that makes these programs the success they are,” stated Senator Flanagan.

"creening has the potential to save lives,” says Dr. Adler. “By way of blood test and examination, two small steps, we may help save many lives from the disease that remains the most common form of cancer in men.”

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), prostate cancer is the most common cancer, other than skin cancers, in American men and is the second leading cause of cancer death in American men, behind only lung cancer.  In total, prostate cancer accounts for about 9% of cancer-related deaths in men.

The ACS estimates that during this year, over 186,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in the United States and over 28,000 American men will die of prostate cancer this year alone.

That is why early detection is so important and offers men with prostate cancer the best chance at long-term survival.  Due to early detection and awareness, while 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime, only 1 man in 35 will die of it.

The Prostate Care Program was conceived by Dr. Maurice Gonder, the first Chair of the Department of Urology and a contributor to the original research leading to the PSA test in use today.  To date, the Prostate Care Program has screened nearly 14,000 men in Suffolk and Nassau Counties for the disease since the outreach program began approximately 15 years ago and is on pace this year to screen more patients than at any time in its history.

To help Long Island men increase their odds, the experts at the Prostate Care Program recommend annual testing for all men over the age of 40.

The department constantly holds free screening events out in the community and provides free screenings all year long at the Stony Brook Urology office located in Suite 500 at 24 Research Way in Setauket.  Anyone interested in taking part in any of their programs should call 631-444-4000 for more information or to set up an appointment.

For more information about prostate cancer, please click here.