I am also honored to have my former colleague and Senate Majority Leader, Bob Dole, here with us today. Senator Dole is a survivor of prostate cancer and has had an enormous impact on encouraging men to seek screening. I also want to welcome all the other witnesses here today and to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to appear before the committee. As many of you know, this is Prostate Cancer Awareness Week. We hope today's hearing will contribute to greater public awareness about the dangers of this disease.
Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in American men.
It's the second leading cause of cancer death among men. This year alone over 330,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed. This disease is especially common among African-American males. In fact, African-American men have the highest prostate cancer mortality rate in the world. This issue is not just about men.