Bayer Supports Prostate Cancer Awareness Efforts in Communities Nationwide throughout September

WHIPPANY, N.J., Sept. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of national Prostate Cancer Awareness Month this September – a time when the community raises awareness for education, early detection and treatment to support those impacted by a leading cause of cancer death among American men¹ – Bayer HealthCare is proudly sponsoring many community awareness efforts occurring throughout the country during the month. As part of these efforts, Bayer will expand its educational initiative, Men Who Speak Up, to help prostate cancer survivors in the United States and around the world recognize the warning signs of advancing disease.

"Bayer is committed to supporting prostate cancer awareness and advocacy activities because we know the devastating impact this disease can have on people's lives," said Joseph Germino, M.D., PhD, Bayer's vice president for Medical Affairs in Oncology. "For men with advanced prostate cancer, our global survey revealed they aren't speaking up about the warning signs of progressing disease. To help address this problem, we are expanding our Men Who Speak Up movement to further encourage these men to break the silence and talk to their doctors when it matters most."

Kicking off the month, Bayer will debut a refreshed website that encourages men with advanced prostate cancer and their loved ones to leave the "Silent Era" behind and speak up about any symptoms they may be experiencing. The site (www.MenWhoSpeakUp.com) features data from the U.S. arm of the International Prostate Cancer Symptoms Survey and hosts educational materials available for download, including a doctor discussion guide and a symptom tracker tool.

Bayer is sponsoring events around the country throughout the month, including educational sessions, conferences, awareness walks and runs for patients and the community. Educational materials from Men Who Speak Up will be featured at the following events:

• Prostate Cancer Research Institute's Prostate Cancer Conference (September 11-13): 
  Annual patient event held in Los Angeles that provides a weekend of educational sessions on the latest treatment options, lifestyle changes and quality of life issues (http://pcri.org/2015conference/);

• UsToo's 11th Annual SEA Blue Prostate Cancer Walk & Run (September 13): 
  Education sessions and free PSA testing in Lincoln Park in downtown Chicago (http://www.ustooevents.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Chgo_Splash);

• Prostate Health Education Network's Virtual Prostate Cancer Walk (runs through September 18):
  Online effort to increase awareness about current pressing prostate cancer issues, including early detection, patient care, research and education (http://prostatehealthed.org/page.php?id=202);

• ZERO Prostate Cancer Run/Walks (occurring between August 30 – November 21): 
  Annual run/walk series taking place in more than 40 cities across the country as part of the group's effort to make prostate cancer a national priority (http://zerocancer.org/challenge/run).

In late September, Bayer plans to take Men Who Speak Up overseas to reveal important findings from the global arm of the International Prostate Cancer Symptoms Survey commissioned by the International Prostate Cancer Coalition (IPCC). More than 1,200 people affected by advanced prostate cancer were surveyed across 10 countries, making it the largest survey of its kind conducted to date in this setting. The full results, which reaffirm findings from the U.S. arm released earlier this year, will be officially released at the 2015 European Cancer Congress (ECC) in Vienna, Austria on September 25.

Bayer also recently announced that it has entered into a partnership with Coaches vs. Cancer, an awareness initiative led by the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches that empowers coaches, their teams and communities to join the fight against cancer. This year, Bayer's Men Who Speak Up movement has been named the title sponsor of the "Main Event" NCAA men's basketball tournament hosted by Coaches vs. Cancer at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit Movember, an annual November campaign led by the Movember Foundation, which supports men's health issues.

About Men Who Speak Up

For men with advancing prostate cancer, discomfort can be a sign that something needs to be done. Men Who Speak Up is a nationwide movement that brings the symptoms of advancing prostate cancer to life for the community, so that men know when to speak up and take action against their disease. The program raises the collective voices of prostate cancer – the doctors who treat it, the patients and caregivers who live it, and the advocacy groups who support them – and delivers informational tools and resources to those who need them most. For more information, visit www.MenWhoSpeakUp.com.

About Advanced Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men in the U.S. and the second leading cause of cancer death in men, as approximately one in 38 will die from the disease.¹ It is estimated that approximately 220,800 men will be diagnosed with, and 27,540 men will die from, prostate cancer in the U.S. in 2015.¹ The stage of prostate cancer is one of the most important factors in determining treatment options and the outlook for recovery.¹ If prostate cancer spreads, or metastasizes, beyond the prostate gland, it often first grows into nearby tissues or lymph nodes before spreading to the bones.¹ Approximately nine in 10 (90 percent) of patients with advanced prostate cancer develop bone metastases, impacting survival and quality of life.^2,3,4,5 Therefore, diagnosing and treating bone-related symptoms at the earliest onset is critical for patients.¹

About Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. is the U.S.-based pharmaceuticals business of Bayer HealthCare LLC, a subsidiary of Bayer AG. Bayer HealthCare is one of the world's leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry, and combines the activities of the Animal Health, Consumer Care, Medical Care, and Pharmaceuticals divisions.  As a specialty pharmaceutical company, Bayer HealthCare provides products for General Medicine, Hematology, Neurology, Oncology and Women's Healthcare.  The company's aim is to discover and manufacture products that will improve human health worldwide by diagnosing, preventing and treating diseases.

Bayer^® and the Bayer Cross^® are registered trademarks of Bayer. 

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¹American Cancer Society. "Prostate Cancer." (Last revised: March 12, 2015). http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/cid/documents/webcontent/003134-pdf.pdf. Accessed on August 13, 2015.  

² Petrylak DP, et al. Docetaxel and estramustine compared with mitoxantrone and prednisone for advancedrefractory prostate cancer. N Engl J Med. 2004;351:1513-1520.

3 Goh et al. New Multidisciplinary Prostate Bone Metastases Clinic: First of Its Kind in Canada. Current Oncology. Volume 14, Number 1.

4 Tannock IF, et al. Docetaxel plus prednisone or mitoxantrone plus prednisone for advanced prostate cancer. N Engl J Med. 2004;351:1502-1512.

5 Jin, Dayyani, and Gallick. Steps in Prostate Cancer Progression that Lead to Bone Metastasis. International Journal of Cancer. 2011.

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SOURCE Bayer HealthCare

Related Links

http://www.menwhospeakup.com