September 27, 2010

JHH dome lit blue for prostate cancer awareness week

In honor of prostate cancer awareness week, the dome of The Johns Hopkins Hospital was lit blue during the nighttime hours from Tuesday, Sept. 21, until Saturday, Sept. 25.

During prostate cancer awareness week, men age 50 and older (45 for African-Americans) were encouraged to speak with their physician about their risk of developing the disease and whether screening is warranted.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men. U.S. estimates for this year alone are that some 217,000 men will be diagnosed with the disease, with some 32,000 deaths. The disease usually progresses very slowly and in most cases, if detected early, is not fatal.