Leading the Charge Against Prostate Cancer
The ZERO Prostate Cancer community has made great progress in support of patients and their loved ones. From introducing legislation to eliminate insurance cost-sharing for prostate cancer screenings to productive discussions with lawmakers nationwide,
screening without imposing a deductible, coinsurance, copayment, or other cost-sharing requirements. Proposed legislative efforts like these will save lives, improve healthcare access, and increase equity in prostate cancer outcomes. Together, alongside our local advocates, ZERO’s state-by-state strategy will
we are engaging thousands of change-making advocates and Champions from coast- to-coast to make prostate cancer a national priority. In partnership with advocates in California and Washington, D.C., ZERO introduced lifesaving legislation to increase access to prostate cancer screening by ensuring that coverage is guaranteed for an annual prostate cancer
help expand prostate cancer screening mandates to half of
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the United States by 2030. In 2023, more advocates connected with their elected officials at the state and local
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Representatives from ZERO, alongside prostate cancer survivor and ZERO Champion Marlon Hudson, led a roundtable discussion with other stakeholders. Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra was part of the roundtable conversation, which sought to educate policymakers, including the President’s Cancer Panel, about the increased risk of prostate cancer among Black men and change the conversation about screening risks and the need for nationwide early detection accessibility and awareness. “ BLACK MEN ARE ALMOST TWICE AS LIKELY to be diagnosed with, and more than twice as likely to die from prostate cancer than white men. We need every federal patient- facing pamphlet, web page, and material to make sure that message is loud and clear. Screening is about saving men’s lives, and ZERO is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure Black men get the information they need about prostate cancer. “ Ali Manson Vice-President of Government Relations and Advocacy
In a year of federal budget cuts and program reductions, the voices of prostate cancer patients, families, and advocates made a budgeting victory possible. Congress maintained federal research funding for the Department of Defense’s Prostate Cancer Research Program (PCRP) for 2022 at $110 million. ZERO is pushing for $120 million in funding to be included in the upcoming budget to ensure life-saving progress is made , as the PCRP is the most successful prostate cancer research program in the nation. Heroes like you advocated for $15.2 million in funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Comprehensive Cancer Control Program, an increase of $1 million from the previous fiscal year that recognizes the agency’s commitment to conducting outreach and education for high-risk men. This CDC funding maintains critical outreach efforts to historically underserved communities and men with a family history of prostate cancer to spread disease awareness and education, ensuring at-risk men in rural and harder- to-reach communities understand the importance of early detection. Last year, ZERO convened a White House discussion on prostate cancer as a part of the federal Cancer Moonshot Initiative. This initiative aims to reduce the national death rate from cancer by at least 50% over the next 25 years and improve the experience of people and their families living with and surviving cancer.
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levels than ever. As our army of ZERO advocates gets larger and louder, we look forward to seeing the larger and louder impact on federal and state policy to improve the lives of those affected by prostate cancer.
“ I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH STAGE TWO PROSTATE CANCER AT JUST 44 with no signs or symptoms. Early detection saved my life and gave me a fighting chance. Too many men don’t know their risk, the importance of an annual screening, or have access to be screened. Early detection saves lives. “
Dr. Richmond Hill ZERO Champion Prostate Cancer Survivor
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