Frequently Asked Questions

What are my chances of getting prostate cancer?

Prostate cancer is the #1 cancer for men. In Canada, one in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in his lifetime. This year alone, more than 21,000 Canadian men will discover they have the disease. This is more than the total of the #2 and #3 cancers for men, lung and colorectal combined. Already, this is the most common non-skin cancer in Canada.  Worse still, projections indicate this number of new cases annually will triple by 2023. 

Prostate cancer is an old man’s disease. Why bother?

The biggest factor in the growth of prostate cancer is age. However, studies have shown that 30% of 30-year-olds have cancerous cells in their prostate, a proportion that goes up 10% for every decade of life. Since prostate cancer is related to the production of male hormones, no man can consider himself immune.

What’s so different about Prostate Cure Foundation (PCF)?

Almost all funding for prostate cancer research is for “basic research,” the kind that takes place in the laboratory. The work these scientists are doing is ground breaking, but results are at least 20 years away. 
 
Our goal is to find solutions that will cure men in their lifetime. Created by a group of oncologists, PCF invests in “treatment innovation research”. We are the only organization in Canada dedicated to funding this kind of research for prostate cancer. 

What is treatment innovation research?

Treatment innovation is a form of clinical research that has the ability to generate breakthroughs for men within 4-6 years. Conducted by clinical oncologists with actual prostate cancer patients, these studies apply known treatment methods in innovative ways in order to achieve higher cure rates. 

Can you give me an example?

We’re currently funding the SABR Prostate Trial at nine cancer centres across Canada. SABR is a high-precision treatment that delivers radiotherapy in five sessions rather than the standard 39. Preliminary research indicates that SABR may deliver better cure rates with fewer side effects – helping to give men a “cure without compromise.”

Tell me more about this “cure without compromise."

A lot of men, when first diagnosed with prostate cancer, are more concerned about becoming impotent than they are about dying. Unfortunately this is a very real threat. More than 50% of men with prostate cancer suffer from erectile dysfunction as a result of treatment. Our goal is to achieve higher cure rates with far fewer side effects, so that men have a better chance at re-establishing their pre-treatment functioning. This is what we mean by “a cure without compromise.”

Have a question not answered here? Feel free to contact us anytime.