Hoping to create increased awareness for early detection of men’s prostate cancer, Gillette and Major League Baseball are getting a big assist from St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith.”Early detection will save lives and I think this becomes probably more important than anything I’ve ever done on the baseball field,” said Smith, baseball’s featured spokesperson. “If I can reach someone and get them to go in and get screened with early detection, this could save their lives.”
Prostate cancer isn’t a normal topic of conversation, but it should be based on the following statistics provided by the Prostate Cancer Foundation:
_Of the 66.3 million fathers in the U.S., over 11 million of them will get prostate cancer.
_Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in American men; one of six American men will have prostate cancer.
_The strongest risk factors for prostate cancer are age and a history of the disease in a family. Men under 40 have a 0.01 percent chance (1 in 9,876), men from 40 to 59 have a 2.58 percent chance (1 in 39), men from 60 to 79 have a 14.76 percent chance (1 in 7).
_Prostate cancer is the most common nonskin cancer in America, affecting 232,000 men in 2005.
_Approximately 60 percent of African-American men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer have a strong chance of dying from it.
_“I can’t think of an individual that will help us communicate this message better than he will,” Gillette spokesman Eric Kraus said of Smith.
Smith and Major League Baseball are asking fans to take part in the event by pledging money from home runs hit by selected players during games from June 7 to June 18.
Fans can visit the Web site (www.gillettepcc.org) to pledge anywhere from 25 cents to $10,000 for home runs hit during the Gillette Home Run Challenge.
On Father’s Day, baseball will have blue ribbons on its bases in honor of prostate cancer awareness and many players, managers, coaches, trainers, umpires and grounds crew personnel will be wearing blue wrist bands or armbands.
“I have three brothers who I stay on constantly about getting screened and I do have some friends that have been diagnosed with prostate cancer,” Smith said. “In getting an early diagnosis, they were able to eradicate it and catch it before it was too late.”
Smith himself has undergone prostate cancer screening. He also has several friends in baseball who have undergone prostate cancer treatment, including Yankees manager Joe Torre and Cubs manager Dusty Baker.
“I started doing it when I was 48, so it’s never too early,” Smith said. “It really has to become a way of life. We’re just trying to get the word out and make people more aware in talking about it.
“If there’s a 35 to 40-year-old guy that we can get talking about it, by the time they’re 50 they won’t be as afraid to get screened.”
There are 60 designated games that are part of the Home Run Challenge. The total number of home runs hit in those games will be multiplied by the total pledges, generating money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
Baseball undertook a similar approach last month, using pink bats and other symbols to generate pledges toward fighting breast cancer.
