Prostate Conditions Education Council (PCEC) was founded in 1989, and is a non-profit 501-3c organization. The Council is comprised of a consortium of leading physicians, health educators, scientists and prostate cancer advocates.
As the founder and coordinator of the national Prostate Cancer Awareness Week (PCAW) Program, we have screened over 5,000,000 men across the country for the disease and have become one of the largest and most successful health screening projects in the world. Through hundreds of hospitals, clinics, private physicians and health centers we are able to bring free or low cost screenings each year to more than 125,000 men.
In addition to prostate health screenings, PCEC has had extraordinarily successful education and awareness campaigns including; 5K run/walks, motorcycle rides, conferences and more. By incorporating a wide variety of events we are able to reach millions of people every year with our life-saving messages.
Successes
At the time PCEC was formed, nearly half of the diagnosed prostate cancer cases had spread beyond the prostate gland, greatly reducing chances for successful treatment. Since PCAW was initiated in 1989, nearly 60% of new prostate cancer cases are discovered when they are still localized and potentially curable, indicating a dramatic increase in awareness among the general public about the importance of early detection.
In addition to screening millions of men during PCAW, the PCEC participates in new research and technology development to help advance the treatment and detection of prostate cancer. Screenings during Prostate Cancer Awareness Week have yielded valuable research results, including data reflecting the positive predictive value of conducting the DRE and the PSA tests together rather than alone. Current research based on our “Know Your Numbers” campaign where we offer, PSA, total Testosterone and total Cholesterol levels, in addition to collecting body mass index. This research analyzes the relationship between a variety of these variables and several presentations and papers have been published or are waiting to be published in numerous journals such as Adult Urology.
Prostate Conditions Education Council is a national leader in increasing awareness and education on prostate cancer, current treatments and men’s health issues. Our education and awareness campaigns include a wide variety of forums and have an expansive reach. We have hosted a number of satellite media and radio tours in addition to our national public service announcements. Some of our efforts included the Rudy Giuliani, Straight Talk Campaign, and a public service announcement featuring African-American actor Andre Braugher. Many of the public service announcement campaigns include collateral materials that are distributed nationally at the local level, through our network of screening sites and patients this provides a valuable grass roots connection to a national campaign. Our Tackle Prostate Cancer Program became one of the top community events with the National Football League (NFL) teams. The Prostate Awareness and Cancer Education (PACE) Race 5K run/walk series rapidly became one of the largest national prostate cancer awareness event series.