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 diagnosis to survivorship, ZERO offers comprehensive support for prostate cancer patients. Starting with education, we provide millions of men and families with disease information through our website, printed materials, videos, and webinars. The ZERO Prostate Cancer Run/Walk series is thriving in more than 40 cities across the country creating awareness, connecting families, and providing grants to local organizations. Our ZERO360 team of experienced case managers help patients access financial resources, cut through insurance and Medicare red tape, and find emotional support. As the national leader in prostate cancer advocacy, we protect and grow critical federal research funding, currently at $100 million.

Our vision is Generation ZERO – the first generation free from prostate cancer.

Goal One: Meet Unmet Patient Need: We will provide new and impactful resources for patients and loved ones to stop the physical, mental, emotional, and financial pain and suffering caused by prostate cancer.

Goal Two: Advance Research: Through research, we can accelerate bright ideas from the science bench to the patient’s bedside and ignite innovation among investigators toward better detecting prostate cancer.

Goal Three: Health Equity: ZERO is committed to bridging the gap between racial and health disparities in prostate cancer among Black men.

ZERO values ongoing professional and leadership development opportunities for its staff. Providing continuing education is key to retaining employees and building the future leaders of the organization. ZERO provides all employees with an organizational leadership book, The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni. In conjunction, ZERO facilitates discussions about this book and supporting materials. ZERO has also provided funding for members of staff to attend leadership training. For example, one of our Directors attended a Leadership Coaching Strategies training presented by Harvard University. This program offers basic coaching frameworks for internal employees to strengthen their coaching skills. Topics covered how to design a coaching engagement, the role of assessments in coaching individuals and teams, and core principles and qualities to look for when hiring coaches for your company.

Despite the second year of the devastating pandemic and many other challenges, our organization continued to lean in to build a future with ZERO prostate cancer. We adapted to meet the most urgent needs of patients and families. A major milestone was the completion of the merger with support group leaders, Us TOO. This historic union brought a combined 55 years of experience serving the prostate cancer community into one patient-centric powerhouse at a time it was needed most. With more ZERO Chapters, Us TOO Support Groups, and community events available nationwide than ever before, options to connect and access resources are much more plentiful for those in need, during these trying times. Last year, more than 800,000 patients and caregivers received help and assistance across all of ZERO’s support programs and platforms. With COVID-19 ongoing, financial barriers remained the most frequent cause of patients not receiving or delaying the care needed during the crisis of their lives. ZERO360, our personalized case management service, surpassed $4.8 million in life-changing debt relief since the program’s inception and served more than 3,000 patients and family members in 2021 alone. Over the past year, lifesaving advancements have been made at the state level despite less in-person access. ZERO and constituents engaged virtually with state representatives to help advance bills in two new states, Rhode Island and Illinois, to remove co-pays and other cost-sharing fees for prostate cancer screening. Throughout the pandemic, it’s been clear that Black and Brown communities, with the highest risk of prostate cancer, do not have health equity. We increased our attention to this pressing problem and kicked off the Black Men’s Prostate Cancer Initiative to provide innovative and customized prostate cancer education forums and resources, as well as support groups specific to meeting the needs of Black men.