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Black Men and Prostate Cancer

August 28, 2023

Who is at higher risk for prostate cancer?

  • Black men and men who have a father or brother who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer are at higher risk for developing prostate cancer.
  • One in six Black men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer.
  • Prostate cancer rates for Black men are 70% higher than the rates for White men.

What does the PSA Screening for HIM Act do?

  • Screening can help find prostate cancer at an early stage often before any signs or symptoms are present and before the disease becomes more advanced and more difficult treat. However, out of pocket costs can be a barrier to accessing screening.
  • The five-year survival rate for men diagnosed in early, local or regional stages is around 100%.
  • The Prostate-Specific Antigen Screening for High-risk Insured Men (PSA Screening for HIM) Act would require health insurance providers to cover prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood tests for the highest risk patients at no cost.
     
  1. Throughout this document men refers to individuals assigned male at birth and/or persons with a prostate.
  2. Wolf, A. M., Wender, R. C., Etzioni, R. B., Thompson, I. M., D'Amico, A. V., Volk, R. J., Brooks, D. D., Dash, C., Guessous, I., Andrews, K., DeSantis, C., Smith, R. A., & American Cancer Society Prostate Cancer Advisory Committee (2010). American Cancer Society guideline for the early detection of prostate cancer: update 2010. CA: a cancer journal for clinicians, 60(2), 70–98. https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.20066
  3. American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2023. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2023.
  4. Smith, K. T., Monti, D., Mir, N., Peters, E., Tipirneni, R., & Politi, M. C. (2018). Access Is Necessary but Not Sufficient: Factors Influencing Delay and Avoidance of
  5. Health Care Services. MDM policy & practice, 3(1), 2381468318760298. https://doi.org/10.1177/2381468318760298
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