On Thursday, the State Health Department unveiled new recommendations for fighting prostate cancer in Pennsylvania.
Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in men and the second most common cause of cancer death among men in the commonwealth.
The report notes that the number of new prostate cancers has steadily declined except among black males. It’s nearly 90-percent higher than the rate of white males.
Deputy Health Secretary Dr. Loren Robinson, a physician, and member of the task force said her father, a physician, was among those affected.
“In spring of 1999, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and it rocked our world as a family, and it rocked his world as a man of color, who thought he was doing everything he could to take care of his family,” she said.
The report outlines steps to improve the surveillance, screening, diagnosis, and treatment of prostate cancer.
One recommendation calls for targeting screening toward black men and others at high risk.
