BUFFALO, N.Y. — Former Buffalo Bills player OJ Simpson died from prostate cancer.
It's something that one out of every six African-American men in the United States are diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. That's compared to 1 in 8 men overall.
Those statistics are something Dr. Adam Sumlin with Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is studying.
Dr. Sumlin and other researchers want to know why Black men are almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with this form of cancer.
"What we're finding out is that is basically the knowledge that African-American men take on prostate cancer and the fact that they rarely go to their physicians for treatment or for physicals or for anything, they stay away mostly. So therefore, the disease is diagnosed at them at a later stage," Dr. Sumlin said.
Dr. Sumlin stresses that prostate cancer is curable when detected early.
Dr. Sumlin will be hosting two educational events about prostate cancer, including learning about risk factors, screenings and treatments.
The first one will be held June 21 at the St. Vincent DePaul's Wellness Fair at the Delevan-Grider Community Center.
June 21: St. Vincent DePaul’s Wellness Fair at the Delevan-Grider Center
June 22: :St. Paul’s AME Zion Church
Roswell Park also has two upcoming free prostate cancer screening and education events: The first one will be held in mid-May in partnership with the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center. More details to come.
The second one will be held September 21 at the annual Cruisin' for a Cure Car Show in collaboration with MANUP Buffalo.