On Wednesday, June 11, 2025, PHEN Director of Clinical Trials and Patient Education Dr. Keith Crawford hosted a Managing Prostate Cancer Survivorship Meeting and Webinar at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and on Zoom. A total of 97 people attended this webinar on Zoom, along with the in-person audience at Dana-Farber. This Managing Prostate Cancer Survivorship session was titled Beating the Odds: Turning a Stage IV Diagnosis Into a Survivorship Plan.
Dr. Crawford first thanked the audience for attending and then conducted a poll for audience members to participate in. He began his presentation by sharing PHEN’s mission statement and expressing gratitude to its sponsors. Most importantly, Dr. Crawford highlighted how former President Joe Biden’s recent prostate cancer diagnosis, particularly his late-stage diagnosis, underscores the critical need for early detection screening and annual PSA tests. He noted that President Biden’s diagnosis might have been less severe if he had continued screening for prostate cancer after 2014. Therefore, there is a renewed opportunity to emphasize the importance of early prostate cancer screening across the nation.
At the same time, this session emphasized that stage IV prostate cancer is not necessarily a death sentence and can be treated effectively today, particularly with the support of clinical trial participation. Dr. Crawford spoke about the recently deceased Mr. DeWayne Charleston, who battled advanced prostate cancer for 16 years and demonstrated his unwavering devotion and passion for addressing the racial disparities surrounding prostate cancer through his namesake foundation.
Dr. Crawford outlined a glossary of key terms, including the definition of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and radioligand therapy. He detailed the treatment strategies for metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC) along with screening guidelines. President Biden was diagnosed with mHSPC, which typically responds well to hormone therapies like ADT. While mHSPC is a serious diagnosis, it remains treatable, and early combination therapies enhance survival.
Dr. Crawford emphasized treatment plans for patients and the questions they should ask their healthcare providers, such as whether they qualify for a clinical trial. He also outlined the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines for monitoring prostate cancer recurrence after successful treatment.
“PHENPath.com follows NCCN guidelines, which are changed and updated at least once per year,” Dr. Crawford mentioned. “[This involves] clinicians who get together from the entire country to go over treatment options to recommend to healthcare providers.”
His presentation also covered how to manage treatment side effects via counseling, support groups, and exercise as well as the importance of a Mediterranean diet. Lastly, he reviewed new treatment options, such as NUBEQA and Pluvicto, and addressed audience questions. Those in the audience were asked to take a survey, which showed that 88% of attendees were satisfied with the meeting and presentation content, and 92% rated the speaker as “very good,” while 8% rated the speaker as “good.”