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Melvin Snyder
Prostate Cancer Risk Assessment Program
In 1997, while his wife was undergoing treatment for breast cancer, Melvin Snyder saw a notice describing the development of the Prostate Cancer Risk Assessment Program (PRAP). He remembered his father and how prostate cancer took his life. Snyder thought it responsible to join PRAP, which provides screening, counseling and other risk assessment services to high-risk men. Over the years, he has come to realize its tremendous significance.
At a 2007 reunion of Fox Chase family and PRAP participants to celebrate the program’s 10th anniversary, Snyder talked about his father being the catalyst for his joining PRAP. He also spoke about his cousin, who is "fighting for his life" with prostate cancer after his family physician denied him a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening test at age 58 (2 years younger than the generally recommended age for prostate cancer screening) only to be diagnosed with prostate cancer metastasis 2 years later.
"I’ve been very lucky to have Fox Chase's support."
"I’ve been very lucky to have Fox Chase's support," said Snyder, during the ceremony. "I realized how important it is to stay on top of this," he added, "and I thank Fox Chase for providing this program."
Snyder was one of the first participants of the now 600-plus-participant program. PRAP’s creation in 1996 is credited to former chairman of radiation oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center, Gerald Hanks, MD.
Hanks began to see a sharp increase in the number of prostate cancer patients detected by initial PSA screening. Patients wanted more information about their risk and the risk of their brothers and sons.
Hanks had the vision of creating a program for high-risk men that would provide education, screening and risk assessment as well as pursue research to understand genetics, behavioral components and outcomes associated with prostate cancer.
Expanding the Focus
Now the program is in the capable hands of Veda Giri, MD, current PRAP director, to take the program to the next level. "I am confident that [Veda] can maintain the program and expand its growth over the next 10 years," Hanks commented.
"We want to continue the state-of-the-art high-risk screening program, but we also want to look forward to tackling issues with recruitment, health disparities, screening and risk perceptions," Giri explained.
Giri said the program will continue epidemiology research to understand better the increase in susceptibility for certain populations, such as African-American men who are among the populations with the highest risk of developing prostate cancer.
Melvin's wife, Norma, was one of the first participants in the Margaret Dyson Family Risk Assessment Program at Fox Chase. Norma enrolled because she was at high risk of ovarian cancer. Turns out Norma was diagnosed with breast cancer. Read Norma's story.