Two events aim to increase prostate cancer awareness, screening

Every year, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center hosts Cruisin’ for a Cure Buffalo-Niagara, affectionately and proudly dubbed the “Car Show that Saves Men’s Lives,” in partnership with Men Allied for the Need to Understand Prostate Cancer (MANUP) Buffalo.

This year, to encourage more men to sign up for the late September prostate cancer early detection event, MANUP Buffalo is bringing back its Prostate Cancer Symposium, hosted Saturday, August 23 at Roswell Park from 8 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

“The goal is to speak to a variety of audiences. You have the newly diagnosed who want information all the way to those who are in treatment. We’ll have doctors speaking about innovations and new treatment recommendations,” says Richard Satterwhite, Patient Engagement Specialist at Roswell Park and himself a 16-year prostate cancer survivor and co-founder of MANUP Buffalo

Among the Roswell Park experts who will speak during the symposium are urologists and researchers Gurkamal Chatta, MD; David Goodrich, PhD; Adam Sumlin, MD, PhD; Bradley Webster, MD, PhD; Eric Kauffman, MD; Ahmed Aly Hussein Aly, MD; Khurshid Guru, MD; and Michael Kuettel, MD, PhD, MBA.

Topics include prostate cancer research updates, treatment options for advanced-stage disease and the role of clinical trials in developing new treatments. Other symposium information will offer ways attendees can get involved in research efforts by lending their voices to focus groups among other options. They’ll also hear from caregivers and survivors, get nutrition tips and set goals for their own health journeys.

The August 23 event is open to men who are eligible for prostate cancer screening: age 45 for those who were born assigned male at birth and are at average risk of developing prostate cancer, or starting at age 40 or earlier if you are African American, have a father or brother who had prostate cancer or have a genetic mutation such as BRCA1, BRCA2, ATM, HOXB13, MLH1, MSH2 or MSH6.

“We’re trying really hard to get men to become more aware of their family medical history and the urgency behind the need to be tested,” Satterwhite says. “It’s something we’ve dealt with for a very long time, the reluctance to get tested, and that’s attributed to a lack of education. A lot of men think the digital rectal exam is emasculating and, because of that, a lot of men avoid it. The goal of the symposium is to be as comprehensive as possible and be open to as wide an audience as possible. We want everyone to come.”

That includes the wives, girlfriends and significant others of men who are at risk of developing the disease. “If men don’t show up, we want their partners to attend because someone’s going to benefit from this and be able to take the information home and have a much-needed informed decision-making conversation. We’d love couples to show up together, especially those who have not been screened,” he adds.

MANUP Buffalo will be reaching out to community groups, including the Fruit Belt Coalition, community and clergy leaders.

The hope is that attendees of the August 23 symposium will then sign up for Cruisin’ for a Cure Buffalo-Niagara, scheduled for 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday, September 27, featuring a car show, basket raffles, speakers, family-friendly entertainment and the opportunity to receive a complete prostate cancer early detection exam provided by Roswell Park physicians.

“Richard Davis, current MANUP Buffalo president, and I thought it was a great idea to have these two events close together,” Satterwhite says of the symposium and the 14th Annual Cruisin’ for a Cure Buffalo-Niagara. “September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and we thought it was a perfect segue right into the Cruisin’ event. The goal is to actually have folks leave the symposium with knowledge that will inspire them to speak to others and then sign up for an early detection prostate cancer exam at the Cruisin’ for a Cure Buffalo-Niagara event.”

More information on the symposium is available at www.manupbuffalo.org and registration is available at https://www.roswellpark.org/2025-manup-symposium; registration for Cruisin’ for a Cure can be found at https://www.roswellpark.org/cruisinforacure.