Cancer Control Program

Prostate Cancer Screening: Making an iNformed decision

Researchers in the Cancer Control Program have conducted a series of studies designed to assist men in making informed decisions about prostate cancer screening. Medical experts are not sure if all men should be screened for prostate cancer. Many doctors believe that finding and treating prostate cancer in its earliest stages will save men's lives. But, other doctors believe that we do not yet know whether screening will save lives. Because of this debate there is a lot of information that men need to understand before making their screening decision.

We conducted a Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded study in collaboration with the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, an African American Masonic organization. We developed and evaluated a booklet and a videotape designed to educate African American men about the prostate cancer screening dilemma. Our goal was to develop balanced materials that did not provide a recommendation for or against screening, and that encouraged men to come to their own decision in collaboration with their doctor and family members. This booklet will help men to make a fully informed decision about prostate cancer screening.

For more information about this research program, please contact Kathryn L. Taylor, PhD, Associate Professor, taylorkl@georgetown.edu.

To download a pdf of this booklet, click here.