Dear Friend,
For those of you who haven’t gotten to know me yet, it is my distinct pleasure to be sending you end of year greetings as the new CEO of the Prostate Cancer Foundation. The PCF has been a part of my career for 24 years, and I am grateful to have been a part of this rich scientific community. I am thrilled to be working with the phenomenal team here to shape the future of prostate cancer research into new cures, treatments and understanding of this disease.
During this short time, while I retain some perspective of an outsider looking in, I can assure you that the Prostate Cancer Foundation has earned every bit of the respect it holds in the cancer research community. PCF has diligently and efficiently spent the last 28 years moving the research needle for patients and the ‘fingerprints’ of its discoveries can be seen in treatments and knowledge applied to several other cancers and even some non-cancer medical conditions.
Our community – our family – includes you. We do our work so that you can live longer and live better. Since 1993 when PCF was founded, we’ve seen the survival expectations for men with hormone-resistant prostate cancer extend from only about 11 months to well over four years. We have helped shape decision making around active surveillance for low risk disease and intensified treatments for more aggressive varieties. We develop drugs coming out of many PCF-funded laboratories that offer patients an what I refer to as “The Three P’s” as our goals of care:
Preserving function, quality of life, activity
Preventing complications, pain and suffering
Prolonging life
I think most cancer patients would agree these are great goals to achieve while we continue to work on getting more people to the point of cures for all.
As we come to the close of another challenging year – the global pandemic not quite as far in the rearview mirror as we had hoped – our commitment to you remains unwavering. This holiday season, we are invigorated by gratitude for the patients, caregivers, supporters and survivors who make up the PCF community. We hope you’ll join us in funding more life-extending research towards a world without the burden of prostate cancer.
Wishing you happiness and health in the coming year,
Charles Ryan, MD
President and CEO
P.S. Should you have the means and the inclination to help us in this challenging year, please use this link for your tax-deductible gift. All gifts are matched dollar for dollar – your kindness will go twice as far when you support PCF this holiday season.