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Show 'I hit the jackpot when I found Jim OHara, Ac yv "I felt ao fortunate that I had someone who was soinrerested ' . . ..... ' andsocapabJe.' y-. Together tfiejr organized a moothly.Man tbMan sup-- port groupatanearby hospital. O'Hara took nesponsi- billtyfor lining up speaketsan staying abreast cut--' .rent information. Hcalsovolimteered togive awareness talks aod ittend community events to spread die word about early detection and treatment. With prostate icance we have a really goodtest," he ' " says. 'So many peojple need to know about this. Testing .is especially important because many men arelike J O'Hara; whbhad none of the cancers symptoms, which include' urinary tract details that ' most people are uncomfortable sharing. y ' But OHara knows that someone elses survival may : depend on Ids opeoness, so die man who wouldn't discuss health issues with Jut wife is now an articulate expert on .'. .;. ?'tyery aspect of the prostate. Thats a huge difference,' : Linda says, He was so private. Now he shares things I never would have imagined." O'Haras commitment to .... prostate cancer education has been so valuable: char' Tburville secretly nominal-- ; ed him for the Fayette County United Ways. Volunteer of die Year award in spring 2001. When. she learned be was fc finalist, it .took is little friendly deception, and Lindas help,.to get; him to thelunchfon. ; : He wanted me to give the seat to another volunteet;' '; C:; . jfiL ffllJ . : lourvilksays'IkneWmmyhethewpuldwinbecamehe .v;V his' home office, OHara downplays his role;';. , Tm not alode in' this," is about, die most V:" : abouotit. hell say homecQinputer, answering questions posted opprostate cancer websites. Two phone UnahandfetheincotniOg calls, and a dos-- et is stfecked with information he sendsour acrpas the axmtty. ck . Pat Curry is m Gtorps-has- d :' fneUtta ttritrr. a vitamins and minerals prevent prostate cancer? Thats what the Cancer Institute wans to know. This year, die institute began enrolling in the Selenium and Vitamin Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT), the largest prostate cancer prevention study in U.S. history. SELECT will track more than 32,000 men for seven to 12 years to determine if vitamin E or selenium is effective in reducing the risk of prostate cancel; the most common form of nonskin cancer in men. ' "When you follow Asians from their homelands who come to (he Uik and adopt a Western diet, their incidence of prostate cancer goes up, says Dt Jack Mydlo, professor and chairman of die Department of Urology at Temple Univwsity School of That's a very strong indicator that diet is a fectot" Medicine in Philadelphia. ' ' Vitamin E and selenium were chosen to investigate because they showed promise in previous studies. Selenium was studied as a way to prevent nonmelanoma skin cancer in 1996; and while investigators didn't find any benefit for that kind of can-- . . . ' ' cet; they reported a 60 percent decrease in prostate cancer Similarly, a study on vita-m- in E and luig cancer found no effect, but prostate cancer dropped 32 percent. -- Can '' t. . , ; Glancing at the award in I . . : - hours a week OHara gives co the Cancer Sod- The y ' ety aieonly pair ofhis advocacy effixts He spends horns on his lic . was'so'desernng.,f.''-.':- w not alone 30-pl- us the betfi Asshe listrns ra him explain a rest result or a procedure to a frightened individual, she knows that her Volunteer b making tremendous difference in a persons life. .People call him and ! heat the knowledgc he has, . explaining some of the terms they didn't understand or were afraid to ask.the doctor,'' she says. He'sdone such a thorough job of research. He's very compassionate with people, and he has a lor of patience. ... ' Among those lies helped is Clyde Pike Jr., a retired air- -. . lines quality control inspector who joined the Mian to Man support group after he was diagnosed inlate.2000. ;When you're first diagnosed, you're in the doldrums; down in the dumps and feeling sorty for youraelf,Pike says. Going , to die support group lets you know yourcnoc alone.?. ' ; OHara and the other group members also gave him good informarion on treatments! Several months after Pike opted for surgery, he remained CBncerfiee.Unlikemanymembers of the group who attend in the early days of their diagnosis and then leave. Pike his stayed involved, to learn and help others.' .. Its very informative, m he explains! They have different speakers, jim has done a great job of linuag them up. The. people you meet in the meetings are' going through different problems. 1 basically go now to see if there saomeooe else who needs some advice With that kind of results, it might seem that OHara has repaid hiadebtro the support group leaders who helped him through the early days ofhit diagnosis and treatment. He doesn't see it that wqt 'I look at life in phases, he says. Theres a learning phase when you 're young , an earning phase; and then a pay-baphase. Prostate cancer just convinced me to get into the payback phase fasten - . '. uVe Selenium is a mineral found in Brazil nuts. Walnuts, tuna and rad, chicken and turkey, pasta, and whole wheat btead, among other foods. Natural sources of vitamin E include nuts, vegetable oils (especially wheat germ oil), fortified cereals, and green, leafy vegetables.. Men are eligible to participate in the SELECT study if they are in generally .: good health, have never had prostate cancer, have not had any Ocher kind of can' ' cer except slcin cancer in die last five years, and are 33 or olden African-Ame- rican men are eligible to join the study at age 30 because prostate cancer appears than in other ethnic groups. at younger ages in African-AmericaEnrollment will continue through 2003. For more information, call die Nation- al Cancer Institute at or visit the SELECT information Internet site at wwtcsuvg.org and click on the link titled SELECT. ; ' . . ns . American Profile Pago 7 - V V U.' ' |