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MEDRAD Teams Up with NPCC to Fight Prostate Cancer

What companies like Avon, Lee Jeans, and Fiji Water have done for breast cancer, MEDRAD Inc is now doing for prostrate cancer. The Pittsburgh-based medical device maker is collaborating with the National Prostate Cancer Coalition (NPCC) to raise awareness of the disease and provide educational materials about prostate magnetic resonance imaging to thousands of men who participate in NPCC’s free mobile screening program.

Statistics show that one in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, but if caught early, nearly 100% survive. Because early prostate cancer has no symptoms, screening is critical. NPCC is at the forefront in the fight against the disease. The nonprofit’s Drive Against Prostate Cancer mobile screening program recently reached a milestone when it screened its 20,000th man at an event in Indiana.

Now, MEDRAD is there to support NPCC’s efforts, and the partnership is a natural fit. MEDRAD markets an endorectal coil for use in prostate MR that provides very accurate pictures of the prostate to assist physicians in diagnosing and staging cancer and planning treatment options. MEDRAD is contributing educational materials about prostrate MR, including animation demonstrating the procedure, physician interviews, medical images, a list of hospitals offering the procedure, and other information.

In addition, MEDRAD and Intuitive Surgical have worked with NPCC to produce a new educational DVD, Prostate Cancer 101. The DVD provides user-friendly information on prevention, early detection, and treatment of the disease.

“Providing information directly to patients is a relatively new effort for MEDRAD, but it is a natural extension of our goal to improve the quality of health care,” said Joe Havrilla, senior vice president, MEDRAD MR Business Unit. “This partnership with NPCC will broaden awareness of prostate MR, an exciting new medical technology that can make a difference in the lives of prostate cancer patients.”

To learn more, visit www.fightprostatecancer.org.

—Marianne Matthews

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—M. Matthews