Prostate Cancer Grant Provides Community Education

The Center for Community Health & Prevention (CCHP) was awarded a $650,000 grant by the New York State (NYS) Department of Health to support prostate cancer education, specifically for Black men, ages 45 to 69 years old, who bear a disproportionately high burden of prostate cancer. The grant is to be used over five years.

In addition to providing screening education and outreach, funding from the grant will allow the CCHP to connect Monroe County residents with links to community services and resources and referrals to area health care providers. Outreach will address the risks of prostate cancer, the benefits of and guidelines regarding screening and support to engage participants in shared decision making about screening with a health care provider.

Excluding skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in NYS. According to the American Cancer Society, approximately one in eight men will develop prostate cancer during his lifetime. Prostate cancer negatively affects Black men more than any other racial or ethnic group. In NYS, Black men are one and a half times more likely to get prostate cancer and almost twice as likely to die of the disease compared to white men. Lack of access to health care, socioeconomic status, inadequate knowledge, fear and patient-provider communication have been identified as some of the possible barriers to prostate cancer screening in Black men.

The Center for Community Health & Prevention and its community partners have a successful history of meeting the health needs of our local community by designing and implementing high quality education and outreach programs carried out by peer community health workers, patient navigators and volunteers.

Collaboration and support from area health care providers and multiple community partners will help make this work successful. Partners include Common Ground Health, the Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County, Wilmot Cancer Institute, the Cancer Services Program of the Finger Lakes Region, St. Joseph’s Neighborhood Center and Jordan Health.