Lift Your Glass in Pints for Prostates Fundraiser

I sat down on the patio at the Pyramid Alehouse the other day and had a beer with Dr. Sachin Kamath. We talked about a sober subject — prostate cancer.

"It breaks my heart when I see someone at an advanced stage of the disease, knowing this could have been caught earlier," he said.

That's why Kamath, Diablo Valley Oncology/Hematology (1220 Rossmoor Parkway, Walnut Creek) and Pacific Urology of Concord are promoting Pints for Prostates on Wednesday at 6 to 8 p.m. at Pyramid Alehouse, 1410 Locust St. It will raise money for prostate cancer awareness, treatment and research.

For a $20 donation you receive a "Pints Package" that includes a couple of beers, a take-home beer glass, heavy hors d'oeuvres and raffle tickets.

It's the first such fundraiser in Northern California.

The pints promotion is a way of getting men to think about prostate cancer and not avoid the need for a comprehensive program including PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) test, digital exam and a discussion of family health history with their doctors. 

There were 220,000 cases of prostate cancer last year in the U.S. and 30,000 deaths, Kamath said.

Kamath noted that even if a man feels held back by insurance reasons, a PSA test costs only $75 out of pocket.

Kamath will speak at the event, as will Alfred Diggs of Concord, a prostate cancer patient.