An aging population of American veterans relies on the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) for its health care. One of the most common and serious diseases encountered by VHA physicians is prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is an extremely costly disease to treat, and the veteran population is particularly vulnerable to the disease given the fact that it shares the majority of the risk factors for prostate cancer. These risk factors include the following:
Gender
The 2010 census placed the U.S. veteran population at 21.8 million; approximately 20.2 million of them are male. Prostate cancer only occurs in males, meaning that the majority of the veteran population has the potential to suffer from the disease.
Age
The vast majority of veterans in the U.S. served between 1941 and 1975, meaning that they are older than 50 years old. Prostate cancer is extremely rare in men younger than 40 and rises dramatically among men 50 and older. Moreover, 2 out of 3 cases of prostate cancer are found in men over 65 years old.
Race/Ethnicity
Approximately 2.8 million veterans are of African American origin. Prostate cancer occurs more frequently in African American men, and the population is more likely to face a reoccurrence of cancer and to die from the disease.
Agent Orange Exposure
According to the VHA, any veteran who “stepped foot” in Vietnam is presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange, an herbicide that was used to defoliate the jungles of Vietnam to reduce cover for the enemy. Studies have found direct links between Agent Orange exposure and prostate cancer with a traceable correlation between direct exposure and the cancer.
Innovations in urology, particularly in pharmaceutical therapies, have been shown to significantly increase survivability among prostate cancer patients. According to a 2012 USA Today article, since 2005, the Department of Defense has become heavily involved in funding research into prostate cancer therapies. This has led to increased research and development on the part of pharmaceutical companies.
Innovations in Urology Therapies Can Reduce Harm and Costs
Reducing the rate of prostate cancer through pharmaceutical innovation could have an enormous impact on the cost of care. Costly and dangerous invasive surgical procedures, as well as extensive in-patient recovery, could be avoided.
As shown, the 20.2 million male veterans in this country are uniquely vulnerable to prostate cancer, the treatment of which represents a significant and ongoing cost to the VHA. In these budget-constrained times, innovation in specific pharmacological urology therapies has the potential to significantly reduce health care costs for the VHA. Most importantly, innovation in prostate cancer treatment can reduce the suffering of our veterans.
By Brett Hunt
Last Updated on May 2, 2019 by Aimed Alliance
