Male cancer awareness: impact of an employee education program

Prostate cancer has surpassed lung cancer as the leading cancer in men. Its rising incidence, encouraged by advances in ultrasound technology, has fueled a growing interest in early detection of prostate cancer. It is estimated that the expansion of the aging population will increase prostate cancer threefold by the year 2030. In spite of these predictions, no educational efforts to increase early detection awareness of prostate cancer have been documented. Although there is an increasing awareness of the need for testicular cancer education, all educational efforts have targeted high school or college students. A quasi-experimental study was undertaken to investigate knowledge and attitudes of prostate and testicular cancer among male employee groups of a large electrical power company in the southwestern United States. Implementation of a male cancer awareness educational program was evaluated by pre- and post-session questionnaires administered to 448 participants. Mean score improved 23.4%; the difference was statistically significant (p less than 0.01). The success of the program has resulted in statewide efforts to further educational programming about these two cancers.