Bill Manning named new ASPI honcho
"The Black Eagle" has passed: Lessons learned on PCa from his friend Dr. Gabe Mirkin
By Howard Wolinsky
Bill Manning, 71, of the San Diego area, has been named the executive director of Active Surveillance Patients International, the first global support and education group for men with lower-risk prostate cancer who are on surveillance. He is the first to hold this position in the volunteer organization,
Cofounder Mark Lichty remains chairman but is turning over day-to-day operations to Bill. Mark is devoting his time to recovering from a stroke he had last year that impacted his vision.
I have known Bill since 2017 when a group of us started ASPI. Bill was sort of the fifth Beattle, with Mark Lichty, Thrainn Thorvaldsson, Gene Slattery, and me.
(Bill Manning, new ASPI honcho.)
Bill had to step back from ASPI for a while after his house near San Diego was destroyed in the Lilac Fire, designated a federal disaster.
Now the founders are taking a backseat to the next generation, which is healthy for an organization.
Here’s Bill’s bio:
Bill was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2009. An initial pathology report showed a Gleason score of 3+3=6, Stage T1c, with 5% cancer cells in 1 of 12 cores. He arefully evaluated his options and chose an active surveillance regimen, as opposed to surgery promoted by his urologist.
He is an advocate for dietary change toward plant-based. “The red meat was swapped for tofu and veggies. Oh yes – no dairy.” he said.
(Personally, I am a huge fan of tofu, have been for more than 40 years, HW)
Four years later in 2014, a pathology report from a targeted biopsy showed no prostate cancer could be found.
With diligent adherence to diet and exercise eleven years after the first diagnosis, and with multiple Color Doppler Ultrasounds, multiple mpMRI’s, fluctuating PSAs and bi-annual checkups, Active Surveillance is still his prescribed “treatment.”
Bill has been a member of a San Diego prostate cancer support group, I.P.C.S.G. since Sept 2009. He has been working with newly diagnosed men who come to the meetings with the deer-in-the-headlights look. After hearing the “C” word they learn there is time to put on the brakes, time to educate yourself and make informed vs. emotional decisions that can have lifelong implications. Be your own case manager!
Bill studied architecture at Mesa College and later Business Administration, Computer Science, and Advertising/Journalism at San Diego State University.
He owned an auto restoration business that morphed into computer programming and later video production as a cameraman and editor. He has been involved in a wide range of video projects over the last 30 years including sign language instruction, rare animal conservation, school band instruction, chronic pain treatment and prostate cancer education. He was a founding member of the San Diego Green Business Network and has also been active in groups promoting environmental ecology and education.
For fun, he hikes paddle boards, and plays bass guitar in bands on and off for decades. He’s part of “Like a Rose,” a tribute band for SoCal music. Bill is married and has two adult children, one of whom has Smiths-Magenis Syndrome, a rare disorder.
I know Bill as a modest man who works quietly behind the scenes but he is articulate about AS and is a strong advocate. You’ll be hearing a lot more from him. Watch for him at Saturday’s AI webinar—and congratulate him and wish Mark the best. See below. Also, if you want to congratulate Bill, volunteer, or donate, contact him at bmanning@aspatients.org (cut and paste). Send regards to Mark Lichty at mlichty@aspatients.org (cut and paste).
Last call: Don’t miss ASPI’s webinar on how AI will decrease overdiagnosis and overtreatment of prostate cancer
By Howard Wolinsky
AI, short for artificial intelligence, is in the headlines increasingly. Medical care is expected to receive the biggest benefits in the field, including prostate cancer.
Join Active Surveillance Patients International (ASPI) on Saturday, Feb. 24 at noon-1:30 p.m. Eastern to hear a panel talk about AI and how it will be affecting our lives as prostate cancer patients in a program entitled “How AI will decrease overdiagnosis and overtreatment of prostate cancer.”
I organized the program and will be moderating as best I can. (I just had a medical procedure on my vocal cords, which had atrophied. Too mant support meetings, webinars, and interviews, I’m afraid. So be patient if I’m croaking,)
More than 300 have registered. But we still have room.
The final panel includes:
—Kirk Wojno, MD, a board-certified anatomic and clinical pathologist who trained at Johns Hopkins, is the Chief Medical Officer of Immunis.AI in the Detroit area. The company is using AI to develop a test to help newly diagnosed patients decide whether to go on active surveillance or active treatment.
—Bruno Barrey, a robotics engineer from suburban Detroit, who was able to avoid Androgen Deprivation Therapy because of an analysis by Artera AI as he transitioned from Active Surveillance to radiation treatment.
—Daniel Spratt, MD, Chair of radiation oncology at University Hospitals in Cleveland, who ordered Artera for Bruno. He says two-thirds of men making the transition to radiation can now avoid ADT and its serious side effects.
—Tim Showalter, MD, MPH, is Chief Medical Officer at ArteraAI. He is a radiation oncologist and cancer researcher and a clinical professor at the University of Virginia. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently set reimbursement rates for Artera AI.
Send questions in advance to: mailto:pros8canswers@gmail.com, or just cut and paste pro8canswers@gmail.com
Early-stage prostate cancer most missed cancer during early COVID-19 pandemic as cancer rates overall fell
By Howard Wolinsky
In the first 10 months of the COVID pandemic—March 1-Dec. 31, 2020,—prostate cancer accounted for the largest number of missed cancer cases, University of Kentucky researchers reported in JAMA Oncology on Feb. 22.
Researcher Todd Burus and colleagues estimate there were 134 ,395 potentially undiagnosed cancer cases, including prostate cases (22,950) followed by female breast (16,870) and lung (16,333) cancers. Annual cancer incidence fell almost 30% short of the expected rate from March through December 2020.
And disruptions of diagnoses of early-stage cancer were the biggest of any cancers.
“Screenable cancers saw a total rate reduction of 13.9% compared with the expected rate,” researchers said.
"To our knowledge, this is the first study to offer a nationwide analysis using U.S. cancer registry data on the cancer case deficit experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020," the authors wrote. "The findings from this analysis can inform the U.S. healthcare system as decisions are made to recover the deficit through focused cancer screening and detection. These findings may also assist with planning for any future disruptions that would otherwise affect the timeliness of cancer diagnosis.”
Burus told MedPage Today "It is important to increase messaging and promotion of the screening guidelines among eligible populations to help re-establish good health-seeking behaviors. Our analysis of which cancer sites and population subgroups were most affected can help better target this messaging."
"We believe strong, consistent health messaging is crucial to helping establish (or re-establish) appropriate screening patterns. We noted in the article how such strong messaging around female breast cancer screening likely contributed to the rapid recovery of female breast cancer incidence observed following the initial pandemic period."
Could more have been done to encourage screening men for prostate cancer? Likely. If we face other pandemics in the years ahead, we should keep this study in mind. COVID-19 didn’t make cancers go away. The pandemic just distracted us.
For more go to doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2023.6969
‘The Black Eagle’: Another prominent Black man dies from prostate cancer
By Howard Wolinsky
Another prominent Black man has died from prostate cancer.
“The Black Eagle,” Joe Madison, 74, who was inducted in 2019 into the Radio Hall of Fame, died Jan. 31 from prostate cancer. He had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2009.
Earlier this year, Dexter Scott King, the youngest son of Martin Luther King Jr., died from prostate cancer. Also this year U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and acquitted murderer and sports legend O. J. Simpson made news with their prostate cancer diagnoses.
Prostate cancer’s impact is greater in Black men. In the United States, Black men have a 1.6-fold increased incidence of prostate cancer and 2.1-fold increased mortality compared to white men. One in six Black men will be diagnosed in their lifetime with prostate cancer vs. one in eight white men.
Gabe Mirkin, MD, the broadcaster, author and columnist, wrote a tribute to his friend Madison, an advocate for racial justice:
“Born in Dayton, Ohio in 1949, Madison played football at Washington University in St. Louis. He was a first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection during his senior year when the team was the co-conference champion. He received his B.A. in 1971 and an honorary doctorate degree from his alma mater in 2019.
“Madison started his broadcast career in 1980 at Detroit’s WXYZ-AM radio station, and hosted daily talk shows on WRC, WOL and most recently on the Urban View channel of SiriusXM. He was always an advocate for social justice. He repeatedly said ‘I’m in the media, but I’m not a journalist, I’m an advocate and activist who has a talk show.’ He spoke out against racial injustice, police shootings, and gentrification in minority neighborhoods. When listeners called in to report instances of racial injustice, he would ask them “What are you going to do about it?”
Then, Mirkin shared some information on prostate cancer:
“Virtually every man will develop prostate cancer if he lives long enough. Prostate cancer has a high survival rate and usually does not kill because it tends to stay in the prostate, with:
—a 5-year relative survival rate of nearly 100 percent after diagnosis
—a 10-year relative survival rate of 98 percent
—a 15-year relative survival rate of 95 percent
However, once the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, the average five-year survival rate is only 28 percent. The cancer is most likely to spread to bones first where it can cause severe pain and fractures. That is why bone strengtheners, such as bisphosphonates and denosumab, are usually given to patients whose prostate cancer has spread to bones.”
Mirkin lists his lessons learned from Madison. He says to help prevent and treat the inflammation that is associated with increased risk for prostate cancer:
Eat a plant-based diet that is high in anti-inflammatory foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole unground grains, beans, seeds, and nuts
Restrict mammal meat, processed meat, refined carbohydrates (foods made with flour), fried foods, lard, sugar-added foods, and all sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened beverages
Try to exercise every day
Avoid being overweight
Avoid tobacco
Restrict or avoid alcohol
He adds: “Most of the risk factors for prostate cancer are also risk factors for heart attacks. Every man should try to reduce his risk for both prostate cancer and heart attacks by decreasing his chances for inflammation with the anti-inflammatory lifestyle rules listed above.”
For those who can’t get enough of me, there’s more to be had
I am a podcast run.
I did a program for Vox/NPR recently: https://shorturl.at/bpxz1 with Noel King.
I did another program on active surveillance for a large prostate cancer audience from Fans for the Cure. Host Joe Cosgriff impressed me with their extensive research. They did their homework. Give it a try: https://fansforthecure.org/podcast/the-active-surveillor-when-the-best-treatement-is-no-treatment
Another podcast is coming soon…with uros Down Under.
Meanwhile, last year, Prostate Cancer Research Institute honored me with their patient advocacy award, PCRI just released the video: