State-supported program aims to connect Black, brown men to quality prostate cancer care

When Ken Reeves was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2019, it came with all the stress and concern that a cancer diagnosis carries.

But, beyond the struggles of dealing with the diagnosis, he also faced frustrations with the care he was receiving — his concern piqued when, during a visit to the doctor, his radiation oncologist started referring to him as “Mr. Green” and looking at another patient’s folder, even after six appointments.

“I said to him, after 10 minutes, ‘You cannot know how gravely concerning it is that your radiation oncologist does not even know who is sitting in front of him,’” said Reeves, who serves as president of the Cambridge branch of the NAACP.

Statistically speaking, Reeves’ diagnosis was less surprising than it could have been. Rates of incidence and death from prostate cancer hit Black men particularly hard — nationally, the disease affects Black men at nearly twice the rate of white men and kills at over twice the rate.

Still, his access to quality care, he said, felt limited by who he knew.

“If you know anything about the prostate cancer treatment system, there are often moments where to get to the person who is the best, you have to know someone,” Reeves said.

But addressing that gap is in the crosshairs of the AdMeTech Foundation, a local organization focused on improving access and quality of prostate cancer care in Massachusetts.

“If I had one message for Massachusetts men, it would be to let them know there is a new resource that can make a difference for all Massachusetts men,” said Dr. Faina Shtern, president and CEO of the AdMeTech Foundation.

Those efforts currently are targeted through the group’s Prostate Cancer Equity Resource Project, which the group launched in 2022. That program connects men 40 years old and above with prostate cancer to high-quality care through partnerships with Mass General Brigham, the University of Massachusetts, and Beth-Israel Lahey Health.

Reeves, who was one of the first patients to work with the program, said the goal is “Cadillac care for Black and brown men.”

“This program has really been effective at holding hands and getting the affected men to the good places and to the good people to treat their prostate cancer,” said Reeves.

Advocates and state officials highlighted the program and other education and care efforts from AdMeTech and the Prostate Cancer Action Council at a celebration of the 16th annual Massachusetts Prostate Cancer Awareness Day on March 27.

The day has been marked by Massachusetts governors since 2010, when then-Governor Deval Patrick first officially recognized a Prostate Cancer Awareness Day, following advocacy by the AdMeTech Foundation — back in its earlier days, the foundation was focused on developing and increasing access to imaging tools to detect prostate cancer.

The ongoing support at the annual awareness day from legislators and from Healey — who opened last year’s awareness day as well — has made Massachusetts a model of national and global leadership in the area, Shtern said.

At the event, Healey cited estimates that over 6,500 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in Massachusetts, and over 700 will lose their lives. Advocacy and education, she said, are key steps to improving outcomes across the state.

“Spreading awareness is an important part of that and the work that you’re doing here today will save lives,” she said in remarks at the State House event.

Work by the foundation has received other state support. Since 2013, when legislators voted to include it in the state budget, it has received financial support from the Commonwealth as well.

In the current budget, the state allocated $1.25 million to the research effort from the AdMeTech-led Prostate Cancer Action Council to target awareness, education and research around prostate cancer in Black and Latino men.

In her proposal for the upcoming budget for fiscal year 2026, Healey became the first Massachusetts governor to include the line item in her recommendation — generally, it has been added by the state Senate or House of Representatives.

AdMeTech’s efforts extend beyond Beacon Hill. To connect and build trust with Black and Latino communities across the state, the foundation’s Prostate Cancer Equity Resource Project has partnered with 13 NAACP chapters across Massachusetts.

“The NAACP is one of the most trusted organizations in the Black community,” Shtern said. “It was clear to us that if we wanted to succeed, we needed to work with the NAACP to reach out to the Black men we critically wanted to reach and make a difference to.”

The group also recently launched a partnership with the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts. The two organizations jointly held a virtual awareness event in January.

The disparities that affect Black populations across the country are comparable across Massachusetts and Boston.

Statewide, prostate cancer incidence is about 1.6 times as high among Black men as white men and the mortality rate is just under two times as high, according to the most recent data from the state’s cancer registry.

A 2023 report from the Boston Public Health Commission found that citywide, Black men were just over two times as likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer and were dying from the disease at nearly 2.5 times that of their white counterparts.

“It’s a real scourge of the Black male and Hispanic male community. Attention needs to be paid to the especially high instances of this disease among Black and brown men,” said Reeves, who encouraged increased vigilance and education.

Those partnerships seem to be showing success, Shtern said. In 2015, AdMeTech connected with the Brockton area NAACP branch to run a public awareness campaign in the area in response to especially high rates of Black mortality from prostate cancer.

About six years later, prostate cancer mortality among Black men in Plymouth County, which had been above the state average, had decreased by 55%. The rate among white men dropped too, to a lesser extent. And the disparity in the rate of mortality between Black and white men, which had been more than two times as high, had dropped too, while the state disparity remained about the same.

Shtern said she hopes the success can be replicated elsewhere.

“When we saw the data, we knew we established a new model of public awareness and broad community engagement that will be used elsewhere in Massachusetts and hopefully elsewhere in the nation,” she said.

Massachusetts men 40 years old and above seeking access to care can reach the Prostate Cancer Equity Resource Project at (617) 523-3535.