CONQUER

We hope you enjoy this issue of Conquer & Cure, a periodic online Enewsletter published by the Massachusetts Prostate Cancer Coalition. The newsletter provides current news, regional information, research, and web-based resources about prostate cancer for newly diagnosed individuals, survivors and their families, as well as for health care professionals.

The 11^th Annual MPCC Symposium will be held on Thursday, May 15^th, 2008 from 8:00am -2:30pm at the Marriott Boston Copley Place. This year's keynote speaker, Susan F. Slovin, MD, PhD, of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, will discuss the significance of immunological approaches for prostate cancer. In addition to this promising keynote lecture, the symposium will feature panels devoted to a range of topics, including new clinical trials in prostate caner, reviews of prostate cancer screening and treatment modalities, information regarding the meanings and messages of PSA tests, discussions of proton beam therapy and the cyberknife, as well as panels addressing how to increase awareness of men's health and prostate cancer in the African-American community and beyond. So save the date and don't miss this year's annual Massachusetts Prostate Cancer Symposium!

MPCC MAKES RESEACH GRANTS________________________________________

MPCC is pleased to announce its 2008 research grants given to:

Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center for: Funding for Cutting-Edge Translational Research Projects within DF/HCC's Prostate Cancer Specialized Program in Research Excellence (SPORE).

And

The Hershey Funds at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital for: MRI Guided Prostate Biopsy Program

Thanks to the many generous donors to the annual Conquer & Cure Dinner who make these grants possible!

NATIONAL NEWS

Researchers now report that a combination of common and minor variations in five regions of DNA can help predict a man's risk of getting prostate cancer.

Last November, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute held a reception featuring Stephen E. Sallon, MD, Chief of Staff, who spoke on From Chairs to Cures – Your Generosity Endures. This reception was to thank the many people who have donated chairs in the Jimmy Fund Auditorium.

MPCC is proud to have been one of those donors, together with the Colbert Family, when in August 2003 it donate a chair in memory of Jack Colbert, one of the founders of MPCC. Allen Snyder, chairman of MPCC, Cheryl Colbert, and Sarah Colbert Bracken attended the November event. The Colbert Chair is pictured above.

Obese men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer have more than two-and-a-half times the risk of dying from the disease as compared to men of normal weight at the time of diagnosis.

Despite persistent efforts to erase treatment disparities, researchers have confirmed that African-Americans continue to get inferior cancer treatment compared to whites.

An experimental prostate cancer vaccine has stopped the progress of the disease in 90 percent of the mice who got it, California researchers report

So, what is prostate cancer? The American Cancer Society provides an interactive web page that gives you a start on all that you need to know.

Congratulations are due to Charles Austin, MPCC Board Member, who has been selected for the Legacy of Communication Award for his “staunch leadership in aggressively covering issues that impact the African-American community of Greater Boston.” The Central Boston Elder Services (CBES) will present Mr. Austin his award on February 29^th as part of its “Second Annual Black History Awards Luncheon-Legacy of History Makers.”

OconoPilot: Navigating the Cancer Journey, is an online resource to aid those recently diagnosed—from starting your journey, logging doctor visits, and receiving follow-up care.

In His Own Words, men tell their stories of prostate cancer treatment and survival, and you can read along online or download podcasts of what they have to share.

11th ANNUAL MASSACHUSETTS PROSTATE CANCER SYMPOSIUM

11^th ANNUAL MASSACHUSETTS PROSTATE CANCER SYMPOSIUM