SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 13, 2018 – The winners of the 1st Annual TRUE Love Campaign honoring caregivers of prostate cancer patients were announced today by the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF). Actress Kristen Bell selected the winning stories from hundreds of story submissions from people across the U.S., and the winners – Wendy Dyer of Jonesport, Maine and Lynsi Piar of Millersburg, Ohio – will receive her personally curated “caregiver package.” Held throughout February during the season of love, TRUE Love was PCF’s first-ever campaign solely focused on honoring caregivers of prostate cancer patients for their tireless work.
“It was an honor to work with the Prostate Cancer Foundation to celebrate the role caregivers play in the treatment and support of prostate cancer patients,” said Bell. “I have personally seen how important a caregiver’s role is throughout a patient’s treatment journey and I can tell you it is truly a labor of love. I thank all those who shared their story and I encourage everyone to read the submissions, as they are all beautiful true accounts of courage, compassion and love.”
2018 TRUE Winners:
- Wendy Dyer talked about an abiding and transcending love between her and her husband Bill before his death.
Excerpt: “What I can say with surety is that it was definitely love at last sight, and not a superficial kind, but a deep, abiding love that took my husband and I through ten and a half years of nonstop prostate cancer treatment. It was a journey that didn’t have a happy ending, but it was our love that took us through until the end.” View complete story here.
- Lynsi Piar shared a touching story about her parents – John and Joyce and how their love exemplified resilience and faith throughout the journey.
Excerpt: “I’m writing about my dad who has stage IV prostate cancer, but who has also become the most amazing caregiver for my mother who has suffered a stroke since my dad’s diagnosis, changing my dad from patient to caregiver in a blink of an eye.” View complete story here.
“There are currently nearly four million men in the U.S. battling prostate cancer, a diagnosis that not only impacts patients, but also all those who love and care for them. The TRUE Love campaign was our opportunity to provide a public platform to honor supporters and caregivers of patients and to be acknowledged for the critical role they play in a prostate cancer patient’s journey,” said Colleen McKenna, VP, marketing & communications, PCF. “We are so grateful to Kristen for helping us to raise awareness about prostate cancer with our TRUE campaign. Her generosity, authentic compassion, and broad reach played an integral part in the campaign’s success, and also helped shine a spotlight on all the resources we have available for patients and their caregivers.”
In addition to the winners, an honorable mention was awarded to Warren Starks from Casselberry, Florida who shared how his pregnant daughter – who traveled across multiple states – cared for him during his journey and in particular how she used laughter as a form of medicine to help him recover.
Due to its debut success, the TRUE Love Campaign is set to return on February 1, 2019. To read the winning stories and others, as well as more about the PCF’s TRUE Love Campaign, visit www.PCF.org/true.
About Prostate Cancer
According to the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute, there are nearly four million men living with prostate cancer in the U.S. in 2018, which comprises 43 percent of all male cancer survivors in the U.S. (all cancers). This number is expected to increase to almost 4.2 million by 2024. Prostate cancer is the second most common form of cancer among men after skin cancer and is now the fourth most common tumor diagnosed worldwide. In 2018, it’s estimated that nearly 165,000 U.S. men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer – that is one new case every 3.2 minutes. Worldwide, an estimated 1.6 million men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2018.
About the Prostate Cancer Foundation
The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) is the world’s leading philanthropic organization funding and accelerating prostate cancer research. Founded in 1993, PCF has raised more than $745 million and provided funding to more than 2,000 research programs at more than 200 cancer centers and universities. The PCF global research enterprise extends to 19 countries and funds a robust research portfolio. PCF advocates for greater awareness of prostate cancer and more efficient investment of governmental research funds for transformational cancer research. Its efforts have helped produce a 20-fold increase in government funding for prostate cancer. For more information, please visit www.PCF.org.