In this episode of On Call for Men’s Health, we focus on prostate cancer, survivorship, and advocacy through a powerful conversation between Dr. Michael Lutz and Andre Melvin, PhD. Andre Melvin is an employee of Lantheus, a pharmaceutical company. However, this podcast is not promotional in nature. The opinions expressed are his own and are provided for general informational purposes only. We begin by sharing Andre's background, growing up in a disciplined military household in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where values like respect, education, faith, and hard work shaped his worldview. Those early lessons inform the way we now approach men’s health, advocacy, and service.
We discuss Andre’s academic and professional journey, including his PhD in health services policy and management and his early work examining health disparities and outcomes based on access and insurance coverage. That foundation leads naturally into advocacy, which becomes deeply personal when Andre shares the story of his father’s death from advanced prostate cancer. His father was diagnosed at stage four with a high Gleason score, having never fully understood PSA testing or PSA velocity. That experience crystallizes why we believe education and early detection can save lives.
Throughout the conversation, we emphasize that prostate cancer awareness starts with open dialogue. We explore how men often avoid conversations about screening, PSA testing, and digital rectal exams, especially in African American and Hispanic communities. We stress that outdated fears and misinformation continue to keep men from care, even though modern diagnostic tools now offer less invasive and more accurate options. We agree that missed opportunities for education remain one of the biggest barriers to early detection.
We spend significant time discussing the role of women as key drivers of men’s health. We note that wives, daughters, sisters, and partners often motivate men to get screened and seek care. From churches and barbershops to community events and beauty salons, we believe engaging women is one of the most effective strategies for improving prostate cancer awareness and outcomes.
We conclude by reflecting on advocacy, legacy, and service. We agree that saving even one life matters, and that advocacy is fueled by personal connections, gratitude from patients, and a commitment to serve others. Ultimately, we share a belief that prostate cancer advocacy is about education, compassion, and meeting men where they are—so fewer families have to face preventable loss.
MMH Dr Andre Melvin
Speakers: Dr. Michael Lutz & Dr. Andre Melvin
[Music Playing]
Voiceover: Today's guest on the On Call for Men's Health Podcast is Dr. Andre Melvin. Andre's an employee of Lantheus, a pharmaceutical company. However, this podcast is not promotional in nature. The opinions expressed are his own, and are provided for general information purposes only.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
Welcome to the On Call for Men's Health Podcast, and I'm Dr. Michael Lutz. This is where we talk about things you don't want to talk about, but these are conversations that could save your life or the lives of the men you love. And thank you for joining us.
Today, we're going to talk about prostate cancer and prostate cancer survivorship, and our guest is Andre Melvin. And Andre Melvin is from Lantheus, and this is an organization we work quite closely with, with prostate cancer advocacy and survivorship. And Andre, I am so glad you joined us. Thank you so much for being here.
Dr. Andre Melvin:
Good morning, thanks for having me.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
Can you tell me a little bit about who you are and where you grew up?
Dr. Andre Melvin:
I came from a very middle-class household. I originally grew up in Fayetteville, North Carolina. My father was a military officer. My mother was a stay-at-home mom at least until I got out of grade school.
I have one brother, actually is about 10 years younger than I am. And I had a cousin that came to live with us whenever I turned 16 years old. And that was very interesting because we had a lot of opportunity to get into mischief, only to come back to a strict military home.
And it was in that home that we really learned our values. You didn't talk back — respect ruled the day, academic excellence ruled the day, you never talk back ever. And so, it was there that we honed our values, we learned our work ethic, and it was there that really, I understood that there were no shortcuts in life.
Church was mandatory and sports and athletics, it was heralded. We really loved to do that and to take part in that, but only after all of the other boxes were checked.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
Well, you've had quite an accomplishment because you're Dr. Andre Melvin, because you got a PhD. What was your PhD in?
Dr. Andre Melvin:
Health service policy in management from the University of South Carolina. I was in the military prior to getting into grad school, and so I had an opportunity to be a health administrator in the military, and I just gravitated in that direction.
So, I decided to pursue that degree. And as part of that training, health disparities access was part of that training. And I decided to pursue my research in cardiovascular medicine, specifically looking at really outcomes, differences in outcomes in hospitals as well as the differences in outcomes for those individuals depending on what type of payers were used for their care.
So, my focus was in non-ST elevated myocardial infarction and STEMI (ST elevated myocardial infarction). I wanted to really look at what was optimal. What were the optimal outcomes for those who had great insurance as opposed to those who didn't.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
You had quite a growing up time with your family and all of the real important things in life and learning family values. How do you think all of that really played a role in who you are and what you do today?
Dr. Andre Melvin:
It really meant everything because I looked at the way that my mother and father, the way that they worked, their work ethic, the decency that they had as individuals, and in putting that and instilling that training into me, those ethics, it meant the world.
Because I find myself oftentimes thinking about things and looking at some of the things that my parents did. And I go back and I think back and I say, look, now I understand why they were so tough on us because they expected us to do better than they did. They wanted to see the best outcome for our family. And based on that, we had an obligation to perform. And I think by the grace of God, we did okay.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
So, at present, you're truly a prostate cancer advocate, and you really believe strongly in the role of advocacy. You've already talked about how your PhD gave you some background in disparities in underserved populations. What made you decide that advocacy was one of the missions that you needed to accomplish?
Dr. Andre Melvin:
My father passed away about three years ago of prostate cancer, a former officer in the Army, Special Forces, really didn't have a whole lot going on health-wise other than that. So, as his son, I had a chance to really see him struggle through that disease, struggle through that process.
And it was profound because my father didn't know what his PSA numbers were, much less what they meant. And his PSA velocity was not detected in time. When he was diagnosed, he was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer with a Gleason score of nine. That's at diagnosis.
And so, being in the prostate cancer space at the time, it really gave me some insight as to what men didn't know and what men needed to know about this disease that could prevent premature death. And that's something that drives me every day. This is why I'm on your program, this is in part why I do what I do.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
You said your father served in the military, did he serve abroad?
Dr. Andre Melvin:
He did. Well, he did three tours of Vietnam, and I had a chance to accompany him and my mother in Panama. So, yes, he did serve abroad in Panama. The rest of it was stateside outside of the three years in Vietnam.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
And conversations about Agent Orange and Agent Orange exposure, did that come up at all?
Dr. Andre Melvin:
It did, it did. He was one of those veterans who had post-traumatic stress disorder, and he was also evaluated because he was in the area where Agent Orange was widely used.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
One of my best friends had prostate cancer and he was exposed to Agent Orange, although he was considered a Blue Water vet because he was out on the boats that were not within the inner sanctum of the Vietnam proper. He still got significant exposure because many of the bodies that they brought on board the ship were exposed and contained Agent Orange, and they didn't give compensation for decades.
And he just recently passed away. And so, I miss him dearly, and I know the battle that went on, and Agent Orange was a real, real issue within the military. And I can tell you that the patients that I took care of who were Agent Orange survivors had very significant and very aggressive prostate cancers, and many of them did not do very well.
Dr. Andre Melvin:
Yeah, and we talked about that. Agent Orange became compensated. They did allow for some compensation for veterans. He considered applying for that, but he was already at 100% disability through the Veterans Administration. He just decided not to. At that point, he was just trying to make sure that he lived the best life that he could from there.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
So, how do we get guys screened? How do we go out and get guys aware that prostate cancer is a significant disease? Even if they're not at increased risk from Agent Orange exposure, there's a lot of risk factors for prostate cancer. How do we get the message out there?
Dr. Andre Melvin:
I think that the most important thing is, is that we have to really talk about prostate cancer. We have to make ourselves vulnerable. Men will connect to that vulnerability. They're thinking about it. They don't talk about it, but they're thinking about it.
And we as advocates, we have to make sure that we take advantage of the opportunities to bring the topic up. So, if we're in the grocery store — and I do this sometimes. I'll strike up a conversation with folks in the grocery store and if there's an opportunity to slide it in, I'm going to do that.
Oftentimes, I am travelling. I'm on the road. Some of us really like to have nicely shined shoes, and so there's an opportunity to go to the shoeshine and sit and talk to individuals that are shining those shoes. And in most cases, they're men. And there's an opportunity to talk about issues like that.
Normally, they’re men of the age that either have prostate cancer or know someone very close to them that does. And so, the topic comes up, and the next thing you know, these individuals are really telling you about prostate cancer.
They're missing some of the pertinent information, but they become less guarded about talking about it, and really interested in the topic. That's where we can take advantage of situations like that.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
Starting the conversation is key. There was a campaign that was started about 10 years ago called Men Who Speak Up, and Ken Griffey Sr. was a spokesperson for that campaign. That really did well where he and his son would go around the country and would start that conversation; the conversation that they had between themselves about how prostate cancer had affected their family and how it can affect the community and other families around them.
And I think that it's campaigns like that where well-known individuals can go out there and start that conversation. I think it really helps that people like yourself in your role at Lantheus can actually be a spokesperson and be an advocate and get that message out there.
At Comerica Park every year, they will celebrate breast cancer survivorship and prostate cancer survivorship on the field. And when they ask for women to come out on the field, they'll get thousands and thousands of women to fill the field to yell and scream and support breast cancer survivorship. And when they go and they get men for prostate cancer survivorship, they're lucky to get a hundred guys.
Dr. Andre Melvin:
Oh, yes.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
It's just so sad that there's such a true gender disparity and the willingness and interest in acknowledging the significance of a disease and sharing their diagnosis to get others involved and aware.
Dr. Andre Melvin:
I will say Dr. Lutz, that women really are our secret weapon. When we get women involved, things happen. When it comes down to men — I will tell you that I do prostate cancer events in churches pretty much wherever I can, but I've done one recently in a church where maybe six to seven out of 10 of those attending the meeting were women.
And these women had paper and they had pads. And I was thinking, oh my gosh, I don't know about this because I don't see very many men. And then the light bulb came on, and I said, wow, look at this, six to seven out of 10 are women. That means that their husbands are going to have to do something.
And when they got involved, believe it or not, I had one of the women that came to me after the presentation and said, “I need you to go to our church.” She was visiting. She said, “I need you to go to our church and give the same presentation to our congregation,” a congregation that her husband obviously was in.
So, I think that sometimes we miss the boat in really targeting women. Maybe that's a wrong term to use, but I know we have to get them involved. So, going to the beauty parlors, beauty salons, we do that as well, to get them involved because they are the ones in the family, at least my wife is that way.
I will tell my wife “no” a couple of times, but then it starts to become a little bit uncomfortable after that second “no,” and I know I'm going to have to do something. And I think that the same applies to most men that are either married or have daughters, have someone that loves them dearly in their family that understands that this disease is something that can be either eliminated or where men don't end up dying of the disease prematurely.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
Well, there's no question, that men's health is family health. And you hit it on the head in so many aspects of your upbringing and the fact that your father was such an important role in your upbringing and growing up as a role model.
It's also so important when you look at survivorship from prostate cancer survivors. The original survivorship group was called Man to Man in partnership with the American Cancer Society, and it was only the men were invited to these support groups, and they found that it wasn't doing well. They were faltering.
And then Us TOO came into existence, and Us TOO said we're all involved in this. And there's significant data that shows that when men are dealing with a prostate cancer diagnosis, it's not just them dealing with the diagnosis, it's how everybody else in their family deals with it — their wives, their sisters, their daughters, and their friends.
Everybody deals with it differently, and that's why Us TOO did so well for so many years. And as we look forward and through the message that you've shared today that we need to bring women into this fold because women are the ones that instigate men and engage men into becoming more involved and active in their own health and wellbeing.
Dr. Andre Melvin:
Absolutely, could not have said it better. I often joke with some of the people that I work with. Like for instance, Lexington Medical Center is one of the larger medical centers here in the Columbia, South Carolina area. My urologists are there, and I work with them, and they actually come out to participate in some of these advocacy events.
And I often tell them, “Hey, there's an opportunity here for us to put together … maybe we could do something that might not be quite so healthy, but it will get people out.” Maybe we do a fish fry or some kind of a barbecue or something to invite the community. And by doing that, we get both men and women.
I think most people like the fellowship. In my church, we call it “eatingship,” but most people like to eat and communicate. And that's an opportunity for us to come together and really highlight the importance of health education specific to prostate cancer, also where health literacy is concerned because people don't know what they don't know, and therein lies the problem.
And that gives us a platform to be able to do that in a non-threatening environment. And that's what I'm thinking about here in the coming months, working to orchestrate something like that so that we can get our politicians involved, our community leaders involved, our pastors involved, barbers, everybody to push to have one large event of that sort.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
As healthcare providers, healthcare literacy is something that we take for granted and assume, and we don't realize how little people really understand when we have a conversation. And so, it's really important that we address that.
At our men's health event that we hold annually at Ford Field, we go out of our way to make sure that every document we have is limited at a sixth grade reading level so that we can make sure that as many people as possible can understand what we are talking about and are comprehending it adequately so that they really get the message and get the impact of what we want.
Dr. Andre Melvin:
I think that is so, so important. Another thing that we do (and I believe you might do this too/I'm pretty sure that you do) is from a health literacy perspective, we get a CBC report, a blood work report, and just to try it on for size, we flash it up, we put up a dummy report, and we ask the audience, what do these numbers mean? Just the basics.
We're looking at cholesterol, we're looking at A1C, we're looking at PSA, just to get an understanding of what their baseline is. And we often find that it's a mixed bag. People know and understand what their cholesterol levels may be, but they have no idea what PSA is.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
So, this is one of my issues of concern, is that in the healthcare industry at large, there's a muddied message as to the significance of PSA and to the actual value of what a PSA should be. And some people are told, well, if it's less than four, it's considered to be normal, so I'm not going to worry about it.
Or they don't know if they've already treated for their prostate cancer. They still are under the belief that if it's under four that it's okay, it's still normal. What's really important is that there's a communication between the provider and the patient to explain exactly what is normal and what isn't normal, and what are the guidelines.
How do we properly follow you once you're either diagnosed or on the road to being diagnosed, or on the road to being free of disease?
Dr. Andre Melvin:
Absolutely. From a health literacy perspective, in saying earlier that men don't know what they don't know, and this is a significant opportunity, between that and the digital rectal exam. And I know I'm jumping off a little bit here.
There's this thought particularly in the African-American community and the Hispanic community, that I don't want to go to see a urologist because they do these digital rectal exams and I'm just not ready to get down like that. And there are better ways to do things now. There are more accurate ways to really assess prostate cancer now.
And that word, I don't think, has not permeated that community as well as it should. That’s what’s keeping a lot of men out of the physician offices, they can't fathom having to do that, and in many cases, they don't have to. So, that's a miss when we don't educate them on that particular piece, that topic.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
I hate these missed opportunities where the message is so unclear and people don't understand, and we, as urologists, have not done anything to make it better. We have really kind of continued to foster this thought that the digital rectal examination is an essential part of every examination.
You can let guys out, you can give them a buy, but don't let them get a buyout of not getting a PSA screen or not getting screened, or not being followed and not knowing what normal and abnormal is.
I mean, you need to educate your patients, and you need to educate the community, and you got to try and find every tool possible to get guys that want to come in and want to get screened, and want to be their own advocates for their own health. And I think that this is a real sad, sad statement.
And the digital rectal examination, more men would rather get bit by a Cobra than have a digital rectal exam. And so, I really think that we need to find every way possible to get the guys engaged first and not chase them away out the door before they get there.
Dr. Andre Melvin:
I fully agree. One of the other things that I think we can do as an advocate community is the concept of each one teach one. Because I know that when I used to go visit my father, he was fighting his disease and several of his friends … I would just show up on a weekend, it would be very interesting because all of a sudden, I have seven or eight men in the living room, and he wants us to talk about prostate cancer.
So, when there's an opportunity like that, whether it's your family reunion or whether it's just at your father's house or whomever that you're talking to, when there's an opportunity to have men to gather, that's an opportunity to really attack this disease. I think doing that, each one teach one. I don't care if it's an individual or if it's a small group, do it.
I think Mother Teresa, one of her quotes, and I really am a fan, a huge fan of Mother Teresa. She said, “We can only do small things with great love, and if you can't feed a hundred people, feed just one.”
So, conceptually, there's an opportunity. If we can't get a hundred or a thousand, we need to start somewhere. So, let's start with one, let's start with five, we'll get to eight, and then we'll grow, and you have Ford Field as a perfect example, and I am just thrilled that that opportunity is there for those men. We need to replicate that in different locations across the country.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
You referred to Mother Theresa. I always refer to the Talmud, which is the Jewish Literacy. One of my favorite lines is, “To save one life is as if you've saved the world.”
Dr. Andre Melvin:
Yes.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
And I really believe that that's true. And every day we just try to save one life.
Dr. Andre Melvin:
One life, and that's what makes being an advocate so powerful in my opinion. We know that there's going to be some that we're not going to get. We know that. But whenever there's that one or two or five that we do get, well, hey, you know what, we've done something. We've really done something.
And so, we just have to make sure that we don't lose our focus because there's so much more work to do and there's so much opportunity out there. So, getting one, it's a huge deal and it's what drives me on a day in day out basis. This is my passion and I want to make sure that I communicate this to everyone that'll listen to me.
And shucks, even some of those who don't want to listen to me, at least maybe they'll learn something that they didn't know before.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
We haven't even touched on this yet, but I know you work at Lantheus. Andre, can you tell me a little bit about Lantheus and what kind of work the company actually does?
Dr. Andre Melvin:
Yes. Lantheus is a radiopharmaceutical company, and we are one of the leading radiopharmaceutical companies in the world. We focus on cardiovascular medicine, prostate cancer, and we're moving into the neurology space as well with Alzheimer's. We also have products that we've launched before in the neuroendocrine space.
In terms of prostate cancer, we have a product. It is what we call a PSMA-PET product. It is a radio diagnostic product. And in simple terms, what it does is, is it allows physicians to see clearly where prostate cancer is in men with prostate cancer.
Those men who either have prostate cancer, which has not moved outside of the prostate bed, as well as those men who may have prostate cancer that has metastasized and has moved outside of the prostate bed. Our agent allows physicians to be able to see disease earlier when the disease is not quite as large as you would see using other modalities, such as an MRI and bone scan.
So, this gives the provider an opportunity to not overtreat or undertreat the disease, but to really be able to see where the disease is and be able to take action sooner rather than later. So, our motto at Lantheus is find, fight, and follow. And that's exactly what we do in prostate cancer.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
How do you think your work at Lantheus enhances your role as a prostate cancer advocate?
Dr. Andre Melvin:
It's a wonderful opportunity because we work in the prostate cancer space as an organization. We know the disease state, we know the intricacies, we understand the patient populations. And by being a member of Lantheus, it benefits me because I know what changes are being made in policy, I understand what changes are being made on the treatment side as well as the diagnostic side.
So, it's the perfect fit for a prostate cancer advocate to be connected with Lantheus. And I am just thrilled that I am in that position, and I will use my position as much as possible, as often as possible to make sure that I'm getting the word out about prostate cancer because this is a disease that I believe we can address in those patients where the disease hasn't gone systemic.
And then for those that have a systemic disease, then we can actually help them to live a better quality of life and do the best we can to make sure that they don't die of the disease. So, being at Lantheus and being an employee of Lantheus really puts me in an advantage for what I really like doing, and that's helping men with prostate cancer. I couldn't have had a greater opportunity.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
Well, you must be really proud of the product that you make at Lantheus because it's really become one of the state-of-the-art in prostate cancer treatments. And in my world, it's become one of the biggest advances since PSA was discovered in 1979. And unfortunately, I'm old enough to have been around when PSA was discovered and implemented for prostate cancer screening.
Do you think the employees who work at Lantheus have a clue or a sense on a personal level as to the impact of what they do?
Dr. Andre Melvin:
Oh, yes, 100%. 100%. You get into business and in some organizations, they talk more about dollars and cents and those types of things, and you do have to do that. You need to keep the lights on. But we're very focused on our patients.
And in working with our patient advocacy group, working from the top down, from Mary Anne Heino, all the way down to the individuals that are entering the offices on a day in and day out basis, we're acutely aware of the impact that our products have on prostate cancer. And the short answer is absolutely yes.
We talk about these things on a day in and day out basis because at the end of the day, if we do right by our patients (and we do), if we educate our patients correctly, if we educate providers correctly, then there are better outcomes for our patients.
That's what we do on a day in and day out basis. We want the best for our patients. And every member that works at Lantheus knows that there's a patient behind the job that they do.
Just out of curiosity, have you ever received a letter from a grateful patient?
Dr. Andre Melvin:
I have phone calls more so. Every once in a while, you'll get a letter from one or two, but I have people, they'll stop me. Whether it's in the grocery store, they'll tell me, “Hey, I got my PSA test back, and this is what it says. And no real issues with PSA velocity.” Outstanding!
I also get phone calls from members of the churches that I go to. I do freely hand out my card because part of being an advocate, we do want to follow up, and we do want to understand how things are going for these individuals.
Oftentimes, you'll make connections. I've made a connection (and I won't say any names) with individuals that I've worked with while at Lantheus. They're doing other things outside of the company, and we still have that relationship, we still have that connection. We still talk about prostate cancer, and we still follow each other in terms of how things are going with our healthcare.
So, yes, it is a thrill to be contacted. Dr. Lutz, it's almost like- my wife is an educator and was an educator in high school. And one of the greatest thrills she says that she ever has is when a student will come back years later, decades later and say, “I remember what you told me and I applied what you taught me, and things are going great.”
The same is the case for prostate cancer. Whenever you hear back from one of these patients and they're saying, “Hey, you know what? I really appreciate what you said because I went and I had my father tested, and as a result of that test, they did a biopsy and he was able to get a prostatectomy. And he is thrilled that it's not systemic, it's not metastatic.”
So, that's what fuels an advocate. That's what fuels me. And I'm sure that that's what fuels you to keep pushing for these types of outcomes.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
So, an advocate working in a job that parallels his passions, you seem like a role model. Do you consider yourself a role model?
Dr. Andre Melvin:
Role model is a strong word for me (chuckles).
Dr. Michael Lutz:
It is. It's a big one.
Dr. Andre Melvin:
It is. Some may say that I'm a role model. I would say that I am more focused on what we can do together really as a team of advocates to help others. If some see me as a role model, that's great, but I would prefer to be considered a servant, a public servant, as it applies to prostate cancer and prostate cancer health in general.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
So, who's been a role model for you?
Dr. Andre Melvin:
Wow, definitely my father. He's one of these gentlemen who really for the most part has done a lot of things the right way. And I feel that he got the short end of the stick. He was going to the physician every six months like he was supposed to, had no issues.
He had mild hypertension that Norvasc 10mg was able to take care of. That was his only ailment outside of prostate cancer. But it was what happened after he was diagnosed that really showed me another side of him. He knew that he had metastatic prostate cancer, he knew that it was going to be a tough road, but it was the way he lived out the rest of his life, and the way that he fought that truly resonated with me.
So, as far as my hero, my role model where that's concerned, it's my father. I also have another person that I'd like to mention that didn't know him very long, but ended up being a good friend. His name is Dr. Michael Culvert, and he fought prostate cancer for 17 years.
He was a male trained physician, ophthalmologist, and just a gem of a person. And so, in getting to know him during that short time that we had that interface, he's impacted my life because of all that he's done for others. I didn't know until later that he had prostate cancer, but it was the grace that he operated that really struck me as a prostate cancer advocate.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
Often when I reflect back upon some of my most impactful patients that I've treated for prostate cancer in my 40-year career, the ones that I remember the most are not necessarily how the disease affected them, but how they affected the disease.
Dr. Andre Melvin:
Yes.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
And I can tell you that I can remember those moments so impactfully looking and feeling that I became a part of their lives, and I was so enthralled that I had the chance to be a part of their journey because that is a big honor to be part of somebody's life journey. And I reflect upon that on many occasions.
Dr. Andre Melvin:
You're exactly right. I have others, a good friend of mine who lives in the Virginia Beach area, his prostate cancer has metastasized, but his attitude and what he's doing for others, he's also an advocate.
So, he directs films, he works in plays, but every opportunity he gets, he's spreading the word. And he's always asking me, “Andre, how can we better spread the word? Should we develop our own advocacy group, our own advocacy organization?”
So, he's looking forward to life. And he's not just looking at what he's doing individually, but he's looking to touch the lives of others. And to me, that's the greatest thing that any individual can do.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
Well, I tell you, I'm just so motivated by everything that you've shared today, and I really appreciate all of this. Getting guys engaged is such a trick, and I really would love to know your thoughts on how do we get more men engaged?
I know that church is a great way, that barbershops are a great way, starting conversations. Do you have any other ideas or thoughts of how we can get more men engaged?
Dr. Andre Melvin:
Other than inviting the spouses? That would be one way to do it. Let's just start there. Make sure that we educate ladies on what's going on. And typically, they also hold the calendar in most cases. I really do believe that they're our secret weapon.
If we can do a better job of engaging wives, sisters, daughters — I can't tell you how many times that I've had men that came to me and said, “My daughter told me to go get checked out, and she wouldn't take no for an answer, or my wife.” So, I think that that's definitely one way that we can do it.
I guess another way we could do it would be, it would take some doing, it would take some financial support, but men, they love athletics. If we can get involved with some of these athletic organizations, and that'll spread the word wider.
We have individuals that are former members of some of these NBA or NFL teams that's had prostate cancer, there's opportunities there. We have some politicians, and not everybody are fans of politicians, but we do have some prominent names out there. And I'll give you an example.
We have the Secretary of Defense, former Secretary of Defense, who had prostate cancer. He can have a significant impact in getting the word out, particularly in the African-American population. So, there are different things that we can do to tap into different populations, but overall, I think women in athletics, those would be the low-hanging fruit that we could attack.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
I agree. Going to where men are is a really helpful opportunity. We've chosen that as our men's health event mission where we do that in sporting arenas. In addition, our mobile men's health mission is planning on going to areas all around the state of Michigan to try and engage at sporting events and arenas, and as well as underserved communities, and also, locations at risk and trusted places such as firehouses and police stations where people will go visit.
But the goal is we just have to meet men where they're at, where they play and pray. And I think it's really important that we look at that perspective.
Dr. Andre Melvin:
One of the things, and part of my position here at Lantheus, is working with different consulting groups. And I'm sure that the American Cancer Society can do the same thing, but if we really thought about targeting hotspots across the country.
So, for instance, maybe in the state of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina is really a hotspot based on prostate cancer diagnoses. So, we can actually use that data to really hone in on different parts of the state, different parts of the country, and then decide this is an area that we want to target.
And I know that there are some of the other groups, prostate cancer groups out there, maybe Finn and others that are out there doing this. But as local advocates, if we can do that from a local perspective, I think it would be that much more powerful to get those individuals. We just have to have enough people that are willing to do it.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
Well, I always like to end a conversation with a reference to one's legacy and how we want to be remembered. And you mentioned that you wanted to live in a way that your living would not be in vain. You also mentioned to me earlier today about Mother Teresa and how she was your personal hero. And although she was diminutive in stature, she was a giant in helping others.
So, that being said, how would you like to be remembered?
Dr. Andre Melvin:
I would like to be remembered as a servant, and I will tell you that one of my favorite scriptures is Matthew 23:11 that says that, “But that is greatest among you shall be your servant.” If I meet the standard where that's concerned, then I will feel that my life has not been in vain.
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Dr. Michael Lutz:
Thank you. And I would really like to take this moment to thank Dr. Andre Melvin for this great conversation, and thank you for joining us.
I'm Dr. Michael Lutz, a urologist and founder of the Michigan Men's Health Foundation, and it's through our events, resources, and this podcast that we are dedicated to men's health advocacy and awareness. We're focused on education, research, and treatment of prostate cancer and men's health related issues.
And for more information about the work that we do and how you can get involved, visit us online at michiganmenshealthfoundation.org.