ASPI honors MUSIC for advancing cause of Active Surveillance for prostate cancer
Coming soon: Dr. Vorstman schools his fellow urologists on AS
By Howard Wolinsky
Active Surveillance Patients International (ASPI) has selected the Michigan Urological Surgery Improvement Collaborative (MUSIC) , as the first recipient of its ASPI Special Award for its advances in researching and promoting Active Surveillance of lower-risk patients in place of aggressive treatments,
“We’re proud to announce that MUSIC is receiving the award for advancing the cause of Active Surveillance,” said Mark Lichty, chairman and co-founder of ASPI, the first global support and education group for men on Active Surveillance for lower-risk prostate cancer.
As a co-founder of ASPI, I will present the Special Award at the MUSIC Collaborative-wide Meeting on Friday, June 16, 2023 at Frederik Meijer Gardens Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
MUSIC, founded in 2011, is a quality improvement consortium of urologists in the state of Michigan (and a few centers outside of Michigan), funded by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
MUSIC and urologists in Michigan have shown the way to greater acceptance of AS. MUSIC has AS uptake rates comparable to the highest in the world. “It should be the model for the rest of the U.S. to help men avoid unnecessary surgery or radiation that can cause side effects such as incontinence and impotence,” he said,
In 2014, MUSIC began an extensive AS initiative with the goals of increasing the use of AS for appropriate patients and improving the quality of AS provided to these men. Since the initiation of this effort, the number of low-risk prostate cancer patients managed with active surveillance in MUSIC has risen from about 50% to about 90%, compared to 60% nationally. Likewise, MUSIC leads the way with a 45% AS uptake rate in men with favorable intermediate-risk prostate cancer compared with 20% nationally.
“MUSIC has shown what can be accomplished in all types of urology practices, from academic to large and small private practices. It should be the model for the entire country,” said Lichty.
Kevin Ginsburg, MD, MS, the co-director of the MUSIC prostate program, said, “MUSIC is elated and honored to receive this award for recognition of MUSIC’s contribution to advancing the use of active surveillance in the State of Michigan, the United States and globally.
“The MUSIC purpose statement is ‘a community that partners to improve patients’ lives by inspiring high-quality care through data-driven best practices, education, and innovation. Patient-centered care and improving patients’ lives are at the foundation of what we aspire to achieve in MUSIC, and receiving this award from ASPI, a patient-run advocacy group, makes this award even more meaningful and special.”
As a member of the ASPI Awards Committee, I note that we were impressed by MUSIC’s close collaboration between prostate cancer patients and urologists and also MUSIC’s advances in cutting-edge research and promotion of transperineal biopsies to eliminate risks of infection from biopsies.
The ASPI Special Award is an original painting by artist Kathy Lockwood symbolizing how patients and physicians can work together to “First, Do No Harm” (Hippocrates), and preserve patients’ quality of life.
ASPI, which was founded in 2017, presented its first award last year in honor of the late Dr. Gerald Chodak, a University of Chicago urology researcher, who created the intellectual foundation for AS in the 1990s, Dr. Chodak was ASPI’s first medical advisor and also the co-founder of UsTOO, one of the first support groups for prostate cancer patients. (UsToo was merged into ZERO.)
Dr. Laurence Klotz, of the University of Toronto, considered one of the “fathers” of AS, received the first Chodak award last year. The Chodak Award is given to physicians who have advanced the cause of AS.
The Committee also created an award honoring patient advocates. The winners of the Chodak and patient advocacy awards will be announced soon,
ASPI’s award committee panel includes Dr. Paul Schellhammer, a prostate cancer patient, urologist, and past president of AUA; Robin Chodak, widow of Dr. Chodak; Jim Schraidt, a prostate cancer patient, a founding ASPI board member and also a board member of ZERO--The End of Prostate Cancer and a moderator at the AnCan Virtual Support Group for AS; Ericka Johnson, a Swedish social scientist, who authored the book, :”A Cultural History of the Prostate”; Govinda Ramakrishna, an ASPI board member and a Toronto- and Kochi, India-based prostate cancer patient; Lichty and myself.
Singing the Blues with MUSIC
By Howard Wolinsky
The MUSIC organization likes music-oriented puns. They can’t help themselves.
MUSIC initiatives include:
ROCKS- Reducing Operative Complications from Kidney Stones
POP- Pain Optimization Pathway
NOTES- Noteable Outcomes and Trackable Events after Surgery
MAESTRO- Minimizing Adverse Events and Short Term Recovery Optimization
And these clinical trials:
G MAJOR- Genomics in Michigan to AdJust Outcomes in Prostate CanceR
G MINOR- Genomics in Michigan Impacting Observation or Radiation
BLUES- Better Lithotripsy and Ureteroscopy Evaluation of Stenting
SOUL- Stent Omission after Ureteroscopy and Lithotripsy
In presenting the award, I dedicate a song to MUSIC: the 1974 hit “I Got The MUSIC In Me” by the Kiki Dee Band. Appropriately, Kiki Dee was a “blue-eyed soul vocalist,” was the first female singer from the UK to sign with Motown's Tamla Records.
I suggest that more American urology practices around the country need “The MUSIC In Them.”
Here are a few of the lyrics and the hard-driving chorus:
Ain't got no trouble in my life
No foolish dreams to make me cry
I'm never frightened or worried
I know I'll always get by
I heat up, I cool down
When something gets in my way I go round it
Won't let life get me down
Gonna take it the way that I found it
I've got the music in me, I've got the music in me, I've got the music in me.
I've got the music in me, I've got the music in me, I've got the music in me.
Coming soon: Dr. Vorstman takes another hard look at urology & AS
By Howard Wolinsky
Dr. Bert Vorstman, author of the most-read article in the one-year history of TheActiveSurveillor.com, entitled ”Uro-Skeptic Vorstman Sounds Off: “PSA Testing, Active Surveillance and More Damned Lies,” is coming back with what promises to be another controversial article.
His new article, which will appear in this space early next week, is entitled: “What’s wrong with active surveillance for prostate cancer? What’s wrong with prostate cancer testing and treatment?”
Vorstman will ask, among other things, “Do we have irrefutable and reproducible scientific evidence that PSA-based testing and the various prostate cancer treatments save significant numbers of lives?"
Vorstman, who takes no prisoners, will also respond to the widely cited randomized study Scandinavian Prostate Cancer Group Study Number 4 (SPCG-4) from 2018.
He said: “Despite the evidence against surgery, the SPCG4 article and its conclusion ‘Radical prostatectomy was associated with a reduction in the rate of death from prostate cancer’ is often quoted by urologists to support their opinion that radical prostatectomy saves lives.
“Aside from this work recording a substantial number of impotence and incontinence complications, the study is also flawed because of the commingling of participants with various Gleason grades and scores (both well differentiated and moderately well differentiated and the bogus grade 3), unknown tumor volumes and the arbitrary use of anti-androgens in others - issues that can skew results. Additionally, the relatively short follow-up time for this study (15 years) is troubling since the particular prostate cancers that the researchers targeted grow very slowly.”
Your urologists may disagree with Vorstman. You may reject his views. But he will encourage you to think about this so-called cancer journey.
The tenacious Dr. Vorstman said: “Let's rattle the cage and watch these dogs bark.”
Put on your seatbelt. And stay tuned.
ZERO Prostate Cancer Taps Breast Cancer Leader and Survivor as Next President and CEO
By Howard Wolinsky
After a nationwide executive search, ZERO Prostate Cancer has announced the appointment of Courtney Bugler, a veteran leader in nonprofits, a breast cancer survivor and daughter of a prostate cancer patient, as its new President and CEO effective August 7.
Bugler, who has extensive executive experience in national health nonprofits, fundraising, and advocacy, succeeds President and CEO, Jamie Bearse, as part of a planned transition.
“As a caregiver to my father, who currently lives with prostate cancer, and as a 17-year breast cancer survivor, I’m humbled to work on behalf of the organization at the forefront of the fight to end this disease,” said Bugler.
“I’ve spent my career and personal life advocating for more cancer awareness, funding, patient resources, and health equity. With prostate cancer cases on the rise, it’s more urgent than ever to help all men understand their risk and the importance of early detection. I look forward to working alongside the inspiring ZERO community, our partners, and all who are impacted by this disease to save lives together.”
(Courtney Bugler.)
Tom Bognanno, ZERO’s Board of Directors Chair, said: “The selection of Courtney Bugler as our new President and CEO represents an exciting chapter in our evolution of ZERO Prostate Cancer. With her remarkable leadership skills and proven ability to drive transformative change in breast cancer and other movements, I’m confident that Courtney will guide our organization to new heights and accelerate our efforts to end prostate cancer.
“Her passion for the cause, combined with her deep understanding of nonprofits and her own personal journey with cancer, positions her well to lead ZERO into a future filled with hope and progress.“
Under Bearse’s leadership, ZERO Prostate Cancer grew into a high-profile, nationally recognized nonprofit, making significant strides in patient support, awareness, and research.
Previously, Bugler lead substantial organizational change and growth as the National Director of the Race for the Cure / MORE THAN PINK Walk Series at Susan G. Komen, leading a nationwide affiliated staff of 200 to successfully transform a top-ten National Peer-to-Peer Walk Series. While at Komen, she also spearheaded the rollout of a new brand and restructured a support team of fundraisers to drive a yearly revenue budget of nearly $50 million.
She is a cancer patient navigator, a consumer reviewer, and mentor for the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program, and is a Certified Fund Raising Executive. Most recently, Bugler served as the Chief Development and Marketing Officer at the Piedmont Park Conservancy, where she played a pivotal role in elevating the organization’s profile and expanding its philanthropic efforts, despite the challenges posed by the global pandemic.
ASPI on July 1: ‘Pissed Off: The Many Ways Urination Can Go Wrong’
By Howard Wolinsky
Dean Elterman, MD, an academic urologist at the University of Toronto, is presenting a free webinar, “Pissed Off: The Many Ways Urination Can Go Wrong” to Active Surveillance Patients International at 12-1:30 p.m. Eastern on July 1, 2021.
Click here to register: https://tinyurl.com/5d7ypd8k
He’ll cover the waterfront of topics, from BPH to incontinence to overactive bladder.
The session will be followed with a live Q&A.
(Dean Elterman, MD, University of Toronto.)
Elterman’s research interests include voiding dysfunction, benign prostate enlargement, and men’s health.
He is the medical director of the Prostate Cancer Rehabilitation Clinic at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.
Elterman trained at the University of Toronto, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and Weill Cornell Medical Center. He lectures internationally about novel technologies for BPH and teaches courses at the American Urological Association.