Bio-Techne and Major League Baseball Hall of Famer, Cal Ripken Jr. announced that they intend to partner to raise awareness and education for men’s prostate cancer. The partnership will be between Cal Ripken Jr. and Exosome Diagnostics, one of Bio-Techne’s brands.
Cal Ripken Jr. revealed that he was diagnosed and successfully treated for prostate cancer. Exosome Diagnostics’ ExoDx Prostate test played an important part in Cal’s successful treatment. He will be leading a national effort to build education and awareness of this Prostate test.
One in nine American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among American men and is the most commonly diagnosed cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates that over 191,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2020 and projects that ~33,000 men will die from the disease. Currently, nearly 3.6 million American men are living with the disease – only slightly less than the population of Los Angeles.
Cal Ripken Jr. and Exosome Diagnostics will launch the newly formed partnership during the month of September, which is notably Prostate Cancer Awareness month, by speaking out about his story through a series of videos and articles.
“We are elated that Mr. Ripken survived prostate cancer and that our ExoDx Prostate test made a difference in the care and treatment of his condition,” said Chuck Kummeth, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bio-Techne. “He not only gave his heart and soul to the game of baseball, but is now willing to leverage his highly visible platform to make an impact on men’s lives by sharing his personal prostate cancer experience and how the ExoDx Prostate test impacted his journey.”
Ripken added, “When I was first diagnosed, I had all of the reactions most people had – concern, fear, uncertainty. Fortunately, Dr. Tutrone and my medical team were fantastic and because of the ExoDx Prostate test, I chose to have my biopsy and caught my cancer in the very early stages. After recovery I thought this would be an opportunity to utilize the platform that baseball has provided me to encourage others to take this simple test and work with their doctors to determine the best course of action.”