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BREAKING NEWS: ZERO Prostate Cancer and Us TOO International to Merge to Better Serve the Prostate Cancer Community

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Colony Brown
(202) 640-8265
colony@zerocancer.org

Timothy Mix
(630) 795-1002
timothym@ustoo.org

New unified organization is a major win for prostate cancer patients, survivors, families, and medical professionals

ZERO joins Us TOO To Support Prostate Cancer

Washington, D.C. - April 22, 2021 - The prostate cancer community will have a new patient-centric powerhouse in its corner with the coming merger of ZERO Prostate Cancer and Us TOO International. The unification of these two leading prostate cancer organizations will provide a new comprehensive support system for prostate cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers. In addition, the merged entity will increase prostate cancer awareness and advance research and access to care through a united advocacy platform.

The coming together of these two organizations comes at an urgent time in the fight against prostate cancer with nearly 250,000 men who will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year alone. Additionally, every fifteen minutes a man will die from this disease.

“The merging of ZERO and Us TOO will provide critical and necessary resources and support to more prostate cancer patients, survivors, and families than ever before,” said Jamie Bearse, ZERO CEO and President. “By combining our respective prostate cancer services into a single, stronger, and streamlined organization, we’ll have significantly more impact nationwide. This is a massive win for our cause and community.”

This year, ZERO and Us TOO are celebrating their 25 and 30-year anniversaries respectively; giving the cause a combined 55 years of experience serving the prostate cancer community. ZERO and Us TOO come to this union from positions of financial and operational strength and share the same mission to educate and support men and their families while taking steps to end prostate cancer. Both organizations have deep and substantial relationships and reach within urology practices, cancer centers, and medical professionals across the country. With complementary efforts, the organizations have successfully partnered over the past decades on numerous educational, support, and advocacy programs to help patients and their families. Having one unified organization as the leading resource for the prostate cancer community also helps the medical community to better serve their patients.

“There is no doubt we will be stronger together as one organization. The unification of staff, boards, partners, volunteers, and assets will be a powerful platform to reach more men at risk of prostate cancer and support more patients and families in crisis who need resources to fight this disease,” said Marty Chakoian, Us TOO Board Chair.

Marrying ZERO’s established patient support programs and chapter infrastructure with Us TOO’s more than 200 volunteer-led Support Groups across the country will equip prostate cancer patients and families with a greater array of support including case management services, transportation, and local support resources.

Additionally, the fusion of both ZERO and Us TOO’s education initiatives will make a stronger and more comprehensive curriculum with expansive outreach to inform patients on important issues including ever-developing treatment options, early detection and active surveillance, diagnostics, survivorship, and emotional and physical well-being.

A major priority for both organizations is to eliminate the racial disparities in prostate cancer. Black men are 1.8 times more likely to get the disease and 2.2 times more likely to die from the disease than white men. Joining forces will bring an enhanced effort to address these health equity issues including unequal access to care, lack of representation in medical research, unaddressed cultural barriers, and more.

The Board of Directors at both organizations have signed a letter of intent to merge the two prostate cancer nonprofits by the end of September, which is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. The combined organization will operate under ZERO’s name, 501(c)3 designation, brand, logo, and website while the Us TOO name and assets will remain in place for the support group program which includes more than 200 support groups across North America. As ZERO and Us TOO work to complete the merger, each organization’s respective scheduled slate of events will continue, including ZERO’s upcoming Racial Disparities Symposium and Run/Walks, Us TOO’s SEA Blue Walk, virtual support groups meetings, regular educational webinars, and more.


About ZERO Prostate Cancer

ZERO Prostate Cancer is the leading national nonprofit with the mission to end prostate cancer and help all who are impacted. ZERO advances research, provides support, and creates solutions to achieve health equity to meet the most critical needs of our community. From early detection to survivorship, ZERO is the premier resource for prostate cancer patients and their families to access comprehensive support, make meaningful connections, and take action to save lives. Our dedicated national and chapter staff is joined with a growing team of passionate volunteer champions to increase advocacy, awareness, and community engagement to ZERO out prostate cancer. ZERO is recognized with four out of four stars by Charity Navigator and accredited by the Better Business Bureau. ZERO spends more on programs than any other prostate cancer charity, dedicating 85 cents of every dollar to support, education, and research.

About Us TOO International

Us TOO International is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 1990 that provides educational resources, support services and personal connections to the prostate cancer community at no charge to help men and their spouses/partners and loved ones make informed decisions about prostate cancer detection, treatment options and related side effects. In addition to more than 200 support groups throughout the U.S. and abroad, Us TOO provides monthly newsletters, educational events, Inspire online support community, toll-free HelpLine, printed materials and a comprehensive website ( www.ustoo.org).

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