Gov’t urged to cover PSA test to fight prostate cancer

By LINCOLN DEPRADINE
The Walnut Foundation (TWF), fresh off observing September as “Prostate Cancer Awareness Month”, is now preparing for its annual conference that will attempt to answer the question of why Black men are “disproportionately affected by prostate cancer”.
The conference will be held on Saturday, October 19, at Movember Canadian headquarters, 588 Richmond Street West. It also will be carried online via Zoom.
“Hear from leading experts, patients and researchers, as they discuss the role of genetics, masculinity and global health equity in shaping the future of prostate cancer diagnosis and early detection,” TWF said.
Among the conference’s experts will be clinical scientist and oncologist, Dr. Neil Fleshner, who has also served as chair of the division of urology at the University of Toronto (U of T) and U of T’s Dr Aisha Lofters, who has researched the impact and risks of prostate cancer on men of African descent.
Other speakers will include TWF president Anthony Henry, who has been affected by prostate cancer and lost his father to the disease.
As part of “Prostate Cancer Awareness Month”, Henry joined an appeal for the cost of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing for men to be covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP).
“Prostate cancer is a treatable disease. But, if it’s not caught on time, it spreads and it makes it more difficult to treat and it reduces your options,” Henry told Share at a news conference at the media studio at the legislative building at Queen’s Park.
“My dad did not get the PSA test and his disease was discovered at an advanced stage. It was … this that prompted me and my other family members to initiate a screening protocol and I started at age 40,” he said.
“At my non-profit, The Walnut Foundation, we advocate for early screening to reduce deaths from prostate cancer. When Black men are twice as likely to die from prostate cancer, we must be a part of the conversation on this disease.”
Henry was joined at the news conference by other prostate cancer advocates and lobbyists including Dr. Stuart Edmonds from the Canadian Cancer Society; Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward and her husband Pete Ward, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer days before his 60th birthday; medical doctor Anthony Dixon and Ontario New Democrat Wayne Gates.
“I don’t believe that any man should die unnecessarily because we have a government that won’t cover their testing by OHIP,” said Gates. “Early detection through testing can absolutely save lives.”
Gates, MPP for Niagara Falls, Fort Erie and Niagara-on-the-Lake, has promised “to continue to fight” to obtain parliamentary approval to have PSA tests covered by OHIP. The test is paid for by governments in eight of 10 provinces.
Three times – between 2019 and 2023 – Gates tabled a motion in the legislature, calling for free PSA testing for Ontario men. Each time, the motion failed.
Gates plans on reintroducing the motion and is appealing for support from government and opposition politicians.
“Let’s come together across party lines and do the right thing by passing this motion,” he said. “This is a common-sense, simple solution that will save our province millions of dollars, and more importantly, save lives.”
Dixon, an emergency room physician, was diagnosed with prostate cancer almost four years ago and underwent surgery and other treatment.
“The best test that we have for all men at the moment is the PSA screening test,” Dixon said in an interview with Share.
“This test is important for the health of all men and it should be covered as part of our routine health insurance that we have in Ontario.
“I have advocated for many things during my professional career. Since being diagnosed with prostate cancer, none has become so important as advocating for prostate cancer screening to be covered as part of the Ontario Health Insurance Plan.
“Saving lives has taken on a new meaning for me.”
Henry said TWF, a not-for-profit organization established in 2007, is an “advocate for early screening to reduce deaths from prostate cancer”.
According to TWF, a male Black is diagnosed with prostate cancer “every 13 seconds”; that “one in six Black men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer” and that Black men have three times the risks of having more aggressive disease than Caucasians.