WATCH: A Candid Conversation With Black Men About Prostate Health

On September 13, as part of Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, the DCI Community Outreach, Engagement, and Equity program (COEE), in partnership with the Prostate Health Education Network, Durham County Public Health, and the county's Men's Health Council, co-hosted "A Candid Conversation with Black Men About Prostate Health" community forum.

Black men have the highest death rate for prostate cancer of any racial or ethnic group in the U.S. — two times higher than White men.

Special guest Keith Crawford, MD, PhD, director of Clinical Trials and Education, Prostate Health Education Network, members of the Men's Health Council of Durham County, and members of the Duke Cancer Institute Community Advisory Council, addressed:

• Views, fears, and concerns for themselves and their family members about prostate cancer
• Prevention, screening, diagnostic testing, treatment decisions, and the journey through care
• Participation in clinical trials and how health care providers and research staff can better engage and partner with them

The webinar was moderated by Angelo Moore, PhD, RN, NE-BC, assistant director, COEE.

Keith Crawford, MD, PhD has over 20 years in the Life Sciences and completed his graduate and post graduate training at Harvard Medical School where he developed competencies in the area of genomic, proteomics, immunology, microbiology,infectious disease, and regenerative medicine. During his post-doctoral training, he was selected by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as a Harold Amos Fellow. His work in the field of immunology caught the eye of the Department of Defense, where he was funded to develop antidotes for chemical and biological weapons exposure, as well as creating a high throughput platform for the detection of biological weapons and emerging infectious agents.

After completion of this directive, Crawford became the director of the Center for Molecular Orthopedics at Brigham and Women's. He was responsible for leading research efforts in the Center, which gave rise to the discovery of a novel population of early lineage adult stem cells. Crawford and laboratory were responsible for the preclinical studies, which laid the foundation for a spinal fusion therapeutic.

WATCH VIDEO of the event (above)

This event was part of the COEE program's ongoing "Conversations with the Community" series.