Temple Emanu-El Men’s Club will hold a free health awareness seminar, “The Great Prostate Hoax,” with Richard J. Ablin, Ph.D., D.Sc. (Hon.), on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 9:30 a.m.
Ablin is a research scientist and educator who serves as president of the Robert Benjamin Ablin Foundation for Cancer Research. He earned his doctorate in biology from the University of Buffalo, where he continued his training in immunology as a United States Public Health Service postdoctoral fellow in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
In 1970, Ablin discovered the prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a protein produced by the cells of the prostate gland that often is elevated in the presence of prostate cancer. Ablin also is a pioneer in cryosurgery, which is the use of extreme cold to destroy malignant and benign tumors, as well as “cryoimmunotherapy” for the treatment of cancer.
Each year, more than a million men undergo needle biopsies for prostate cancer and more than 100,000 have radical prostatectomies. Ablin says most of these men would never have died from this common cancer that typically grows so slowly it never leaves the prostate. When a diagnosis of prostate cancer is made, “the whole family’s welfare and survival are threatened,” says Ablin.
His book, “The Great Prostate Hoax” (St. Martin’s Press, 2014) explains how the PSA was never meant for use for prostate cancer screening, yet the test was patented and approved by the FDA in 1994. Now he and other doctors are speaking out about the test’s harm and searching for a true prostate cancer-specific marker.
Ablin is dedicated to improving the quality of life for prostate cancer patients and their families by providing information on treatment options. He encourages women to attend the seminar with their husbands. Breakfast will be served prior to the seminar.
For more information, contact Temple Emanu-El, 225 N. Country Club Road, at 327-4501.
