HealthMark Multimedia in the News:

For Immediate Release

Contact: Susan Brink, Principal
HealthMark Multimedia, LLC
PH: 202-448-6150, Ext. 201
Email:

New Interactive Resource Helps Men with Prostate Cancer

NCI grant leads to development of interactive tool to assist patient decision making

Washington, DC - September 16, 2002 - This year, over 189,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, about 520 men each day. The most commonly diagnosed cancer in U.S. men, prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men. HealthMark Multimedia's Prostate Cancer: Your Decision Notebook®; is an interactive CD-ROM to help these newly diagnosed men make the difficult decisions they now face. It is designed to provide accurate information to assist them in choosing a treatment that best meets their medical and personal needs. A grant from the National Cancer Institute's Small Business Innovation Research Program funded Prostate Cancer: Your Decision Notebook®;.

With the multitude of diagnostic and treatment information available, men face a decision-making process that can be overwhelming at best. Leading expert David Crawford, M.D., Professor of Surgery/Radiation Oncology, and Head of the Section of Urologic Oncology at the University of Colorado, says, "The program provides a very balanced view of the many diagnostic and treatment options. I encourage patients to see it." Retired U.S. Army Lt. Colonel Harry Harris, a prostate cancer survivor who participated in developing the product, says, "It is so difficult for men who have just found they have prostate cancer to know what to do. The CD is a godsend."

"African-American men are 60% more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer and twice as likely to die from it as Caucasian Americans. "I've seen African-American men do nothing about prostate cancer because they were afraid. This interactive tool gives them comprehensive information in a patient-friendly format that would help them understand prostate cancer and encourage them to seek help." says U.S. Air Force Ret. Norwood (Woody) Sloan, a 12-year prostate cancer survivor who participated in the development of the CD.

The software includes information on treatment options medical tests and managing health care. Stories from prostate cancer survivors and their partners personalize the CD. The interactive decision-making tools offer feedback to patients on their personal concerns.

Prostate Cancer: Your Decision Notebook® is available for $39.95. It can be purchased on the Internet at www.yourdecisionnotebook.com or by calling 877-PCA CALL.