Face your Fear this September and support prostate cancer research
Queenslanders have a chance to help Mater scientists fight prostate cancer—a disease that kills one Australian man every three hours. Around the same number as breast cancer in women.
Through Prostate Cancer Awareness Month this September, Mater Foundation aims to raise money for prostate cancer research at Mater through Talking PC.
Currently there are 61 000 men fighting the disease and another 20 000 will be diagnosed this year.
Talking about prostate cancer saves lives. If you are male and aged over 40, face your fear and talk to your GP about regular checks. Like most cancers, prostate cancer is more likely to be successfully treated if it is diagnosed in the early stages.
Mater Foundation Executive Director Nigel Harris said, “We’re aiming to promote awareness of prostate cancer as well as raise funds for research as many men are too embarrassed to go and get their annual check ups; it is these annual check ups that can save their life.”
Mater Foundation is heavily involved in prostate cancer education talks in the community as part of their commitment to awareness.
BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) and Mater Foundation are partnering together to raise awareness with BMA employees on mine sites throughout central Queensland.
BMA have also been raising funds for research in a variety of ways including their Blue Truck Program where, during the month of September, each mine site has a truck painted blue and a percentage of coal tonnage income benefits Mater.
Funds raised by BMA , individuals and organisations supporting Talking PC are helping scientists at Mater Medical Research Institute (MMRI) better understand prostate cancer in numerous ways.
They have been studying how a man’s own immune system can be stimulated to fight prostate cancer. They want to understand the molecular events underpinning prostate cancer—how it starts and spreads around the body. This includes the cancer spreading to the bones which is one of the most common areas for cancer to spread and currently bone cancer is incurable.
Scientists are also working to identify what genes and proteins predispose men to developing prostate cancer – aiming to inform future generations of men, early in life, about their risks. Another team are exploring how prostate cancer cells protect themselves in response to treatments with the view to developing strategies to sensitise cancers to therapy.
Through better understanding of the disease scientists at MMRI are contributing to the global fight against prostate cancer leading to better ways to diagnose and treat the disease.
One in nine Australian men will get prostate cancer. This September, Mater Foundation aims to raise more than $300 000 for prostate cancer research at Mater through Talking PC
You can take part in Talking PC by holding a barbeque or morning tea; facing your fear and holding a challenge event or making a donation.
“Research costs millions of dollars but by participating in Talking PC Queenslanders can make a difference to the lives of thousands of men and their families,” Nigel Harris said.
Register for Talking PC today