TO THE EDITOR:
I am writing in response to the editorial “Prostate debate” (Oct. 1). In 2010, the American Cancer Society expects 32,050 men to die of prostate cancer in our country. On top of that, one in every six men will be diagnosed with the disease in their lifetime. And North Carolina has one of the highest mortality rates from prostate cancer in the nation.
Cancer does not choose its victims based on skin color. Making the debate over the prostate center a race issue is the wrong way to look at it. Cancer affects everyone.
UNC Hospitals has every right to claim a prostate center in its Comprehensive Cancer Center. Being one of the leading hospital systems and medical schools in the country, it should have the prostate center.
After my father’s diagnosis with prostate cancer this summer, he went to the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, which is nationally known for its care and excellence in the field. Lineberger needs to have the prostate center because it will be able to reach more men, no matter the race, than Cary Urology. UNC has some of the leading researchers for cancer worldwide, and adding the prostate center to its arsenal will only help us find a cure for the horrible disease.
UNC Hospitals is centrally located, publicly owned and more than qualified to host this center.
My dad was lucky. We caught his cancer early. If a hospital like UNC Hospitals creates a prostate center, then maybe many more men will catch it early.
While the debate continues, I’ll still wear my Carolina Blue prostate cancer awareness ribbon.
Sarah Sessoms
Sophomore
Journalism and Mass Communication
