Prostate Cancer - Research Paper Example

PRO CANCER S Introduction Prostrate cancer affects the males; it usually starts at old age. This type of cancer affects the prostrate glands and it involves a gradual process though some cases it spreads fast. The cancer is curable if detected at an early stage. In America, this type of cancer is among the common diseases and the second cancer killer. At an early stage, prostrate cancer shows no symptoms, but some warning indicators include frequent urination at night, powerful or weak urination, blood in urine, difficult controlling urinating and painful urination. Prostate cancer develops from the cells of prostate gland (John, 2008). The cause of prostate cancer is not clearly understood, but researchers argue that issues like race, family and age are beyond ones’ control. But some risk factors like avoiding fatty foods can be avoided as one is advised to eat more fruits, unsaturated foods, whole grains and intake of less red meat. Some medication from well equipped health centers helps reduce the spread of the cancer in the body. Drugs like; finastede have shown to reduce the prostrate cancer risk (John, 2008). California population is the most affected with cancer cases with 1,277,200 people affected with different types of cancer. The state projects that in 2012, more than 144,800 new cases will occur. The patients with prostate cancer include 20,195 new cases that makes up to 28% and 3,085 deaths occurs. The survivors of prostate cancer are 240,200 that accounts for 42%. Although from 1988 to 2009, 11% reduction has been reported as mortality reduces by 23% (CCR, 2012). The advocacy that have been effective include the “Us too advocacy” that uses the prostate cancer survivors and victims to spread the awareness creation. They give speeches in forums, hold door to door awareness creations and attended screening centers to help explain to the attendees the screening environment. The attributes that makes this advocacy campaign is that it involves survivors, volunteers and experts to spread the required awareness messages. The volunteers take their time to deliver the message of the benefits of early screening, explaining the screening environment to the people so that they attend the screening exercise and encouraging people the people to attend the screening centers. The other attribute makes this advocacy to be effective is the involvement of medical experts on comprehensive research and provision of a variety of advanced treatment (CCR, 2012). The other advocacy campaign that is effective is the “Zero prostate cancer” campaign. The Zero campaigns’ objectives involve awareness creation among the people, the need for early detection, sourcing for funds for life saving research and ensuring that patients voluntarily come for check ups and treatment. The attributes that has made it effectives includes; holding aggressive funding campaigns, creating a non profit IPO to bring on board stakeholders and sharing the prostate cancer related information to everyone. Zero campaign has a grass root membership groups that carry out awareness creation activities. This spreads the information needed to help people go for early screening and sensitize the people on preventive measures to be taken. Senator Barbara Boxer proposes an act that seeks to enable an improved research and detection of prostate cancer. It also proposes that need for nationwide screening awareness campaigns. The “prostate cancer detection research and education Act” seeks to request for 180 millions for research and awareness creation. The plan for prostate cancer advocacy that will help improve this law includes collecting information from the affected California on what should be added to the policy to enable effective treatment. The plan will use all media platform; social media, electronic, posters and short text messages. The policy that will help the prostate cancer patients and their partners has to include; the roles of specialists in creating awareness in the communities living around their centers of operation. The policy that will be of help to the cancer patients should include free medical attention from the health experts, free screening and access to information whenever the citizen needs it (CCR, 2012). The advocacy plan will involve the youths, social groups, organized walk for prostate cancer, involving good will ambassador; like music celebs, to spread the message. There is need to collect ideas from the grass root on what the policy should contain. An aggressive campaign is part of the plan aimed at collecting a million signatures to push for the government to fund the prostate cancer program. The government act fast as this disease is killing more people, due to failure of early screening. Plans to incorporate religious leaders are necessary. An assigned group that will go round the affected states like California, creating awareness in churches, organizing religious forums, holding talks in worship places and collect the views of the religious people. The information collects will be qualitatively analyzed, and then a petition report is taken around the states for endorsement of more than a million signatures. This can be through electronic signatures and manual. The petitions will be presented before the government leaders for adoption. The social media and blogs are the best platform to ensure enough pressure on the leaders to adopt the petition and fund the prostate screening program. This petition will have a section of suggestions to be included in Boxer’s Act. The specific objectives for the proposed policy changes include; the need to fund the screening programs, employment of prostate cancer experts in all local healthcare centers, the need to fund preventive and detection campaigns, the compulsory funding of the media adverts that create awareness among the people, to advocate for the involvement higher institutions of learning to hold debates on the same, the last objective is inserting a clause that requires the health centers to hold free monthly screening. This objective will enable the experts carry out door to door campaigns or set up screening center. These objectives will ensure that enough information flow is passed to the people and people are screened regularly. The means that will be used to involve all the affected stakeholders will include planned face to face meeting to personally present the reality on the ground. At this meeting, the stakeholders should be informed that prostate cancer is curable if detected at the early stages (John, 2008). Hence, they need for them to support the adoption of a law that enables regular screening programs are carried out. The other mean that will attract the attention of the stakeholders is to use the prostate cancer survivors to give speeches in the screened dramas and reality shows. This information will provide a platform for the stakeholders to contribute and come up with suggestions. Another mean that will help the involvement of stakeholders, is to come up with a monthly newsletter that shows the data collected from the fields, the patient information, screening data and overall progress made by the campaign team. The free newsletter given to partners who attend the monthly stakeholders’ meeting and via emails provided. In conclusion, prostate cancer is a disease that is treatable if all the men aged above 50 should be encouraged to carry out regular screening. The early detection will help reduce the growth of the cancerous cells and administering the recommended medication (John, 2008). The public should be advised to avoid intake of fat containing foods, red meat and other risky factors that may induce the cancer. The policymakers should be ready to adopt the stakeholders’ suggestions on the policy that will help create awareness and improve the screening process in the U.S states. References CCR. (2012). “California Cancer Facts and Figures” New York: John Wiley & Sons press. John H. (2008). “Prostate Cancer: diagnosis and treatment” Cardiff: NICE press Read More