The American Cancer Society Prostate Cancer March for Awareness will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 4, at the Alamodome and continue with the march to Sunset Station. The event chairman is Ian M. Thompson Jr., M.D., professor of surgery and chief of urology at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
“As the name of the event implies, we want to raise awareness, specifically that men who have been diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer most commonly return to a full and healthy life,” said Dr. Thompson, who also heads the SABOR prostate cancer research program at the Health Science Center. SABOR is short for San Antonio Center of Biomarkers of Risk for Prostate Cancer.
Those who march in honor of loved ones will wear signs with their friend’s or relative’s name on their backs.
At the start of the march, participants will hear from Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, a champion for health care in the Texas Legislature. At the end, several survivors will address the marchers.
Dr. Thompson leads the Cancer Prevention and Population Science (CPPS) program of the San Antonio Cancer Institute (SACI), an NCI-designated Cancer Center that is a partnership between the Health Science Center and the Cancer Therapy and Research Center in San Antonio. One of the goals of the CPPS program is to improve survival rates among African Americans and other men who are at higher risk for prostate cancer.
The march is open to anyone with an interest in prostate cancer. For more information, call the American Cancer Society at (210) 614-4211. T-shirts will be available at the event for $5.
