All 16 of the Flying Saucer pubs across the country, including San Antonio, have begun a month-long fundraising for prostate cancer awareness and early detection. The money raised will go to Pints for Prostates, a nonprofit that began in 2008 by a prostate cancer survivor.
"Anytime you're dealing with something cancer-oriented, awareness and early detection is very key," said Sam Wynne, Flying Saucer’s beer director and certified cicerone -- a beer and food pairing expert.
Wynne said in 2012, Flying Saucer raised nearly $25,000, which made up more than 8 percent of Pints for Prostates' overall efforts that year.
But Wynne said mostly it is the awareness that matters, and Flying Saucer makes a great meeting point for the mission because the establishments serve plenty of men. The message is meeting guys where they are, Wynne said.
"Prostate cancer is more common in men than breast cancer is in women," he said. "I don't think a lot of adult males really like to even think about that."
Among cancer research and awareness campaigns, breast cancer receives $2,596 per case, the most funding per new case according to the National Cancer Institute. The institute said prostate cancer is the most common and it receives the least amount of funding per each new case at just $1,318.
The disparity between cancer research and awareness funding spurred a New York Times health article on the matter, questioning if funding should be focused on the most common cancers, or the most deadly ones.
The University of Texas Health Science Center’s Elizabeth Allen believes the same holds true today as it did five years ago.
Still, Wynne is proud of the money raised, and hopes to send a check for even more this year to Pints for Prostates, but he’s happy just knowing that men are hearing the message.
"We're still raising awareness for that charity and raising awareness for the cause," he said. "So I think the value of what we're putting together is worth more than the check we write."
- Learn more about Pints for Prostates at: www.pintsforprostates.org
