Cancer ABCs – Prostate Cancer Self Advocacy Group

Joel Nowak, a man living with prostate cancer and the co-founder and CEO of Cancer ABCs discusses the importance of making clinical data (like the recent patient-focused publication in “Future Oncology” Online Feb 2021) available to patients and caregivers to promote informed decision-making and empower men to take charge of their health. As the co-founder and CEO of Cancer ABCs, he has a unique perspective on patient advocacy and the value of bringing resources to men living with prostate cancer. He was also uniquely involved in the publication of the patient-focused research that was published in Future Oncology.

Joel T. Nowak, MA, MSW, is a cancer thriver and advocate who has been diagnosed and treated for five primary cancers, including advanced prostate cancer. He is a co-founder and CEO of Cancer ABCs, which has as its mission to facilitate tangible improvements in the lives of people who have been affected by cancer(s), by providing them and their loved ones the necessary survival tools, education, support and advocacy so that they can become responsible for and take an active role in their own medical care and wellbeing. Joel also serves as a programmatic reviewer for the Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program, is a member of the External Patient Review Board for the Herbert Irving Cancer Center at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, is on the Advisory Board for the Prostate Cancer Clinical Trial Consortium (PCCTC), where he is also an active member of the team developing the Ironman Study, and the DORA Trial. Joel was involved in the development of the Metastatic Prostate Cancer Project with the Broad Institute. He has been involved in the development of clinical trial protocols for a number of trials actively being considered for funding. He has published numerous plain language documents, blogs, and papers for cancer patients and their caregivers.