A Lovey in Every Family

I don’t know when I started calling my wife “Lovey.” In fact, I didn’t consciously realize it until I met Elise DaCosta. Elise and I have something in common – we both call our spouses “Lovey.”

The difference is that Elise’s “Lovey” passed away in April from prostate cancer. I first spoke with her only a week after her “Lovey,” and the father of their three amazing sons, died. We talked about what could have been for Joe – who had to come off of a clinical trial after a fall in October – and how we need to do better as a patient advocacy and medical community to forge ahead for better diagnostic tools to catch prostate cancer in the early stages.

She lost the person she cares most about in this world less than two months ago. With her sons – Joseph, Michael, and Matthew – at her side, she united a team of 40 strong and brought it to the ZERO Prostate Cancer Run/Walk in Hartford to show the world she’s fighting on in our shared journey to end prostate cancer.

We owe it to Joe DaCosta to spread awareness. According to the American Cancer Society, only one in three men are getting tested for prostate cancer – a disease that has a 99 percent survival rate when it’s caught early. The United States Preventive Services Task Force – a panel that systemically reviews prevention health services – is concerned about the amount of men who get unneeded treatment for indolent (non-deadly) tumors. 

This stance has caused many primary care doctors to shy away from administering the test at all – missing men like Joe. That’s why it’s critical to encourage each man to be his own best advocate for his health. Know your risks, get tested, and proceed with a fully-informed team of experts and supporters.

We need you! A man dies every 18 minutes from prostate cancer but together, we can end it. Can we count on you to spread the word? Will you join up with Team Lovey and the thousands of families uniting across the country to take an active role to end prostate cancer?