Anthony Minter, a retired Medical Specialist in the U.S. Army, was first diagnosed with prostate cancer in April of 2012. After exploring his treatment options, he settled on brachytherapy and external beam radiation. Although he still lives with negative side effects from his treatment regimen that have impacted his quality of life, his attitude remains positive. He describes the impact of his diagnosis on his life as “tremendous” not because of the physical impact it has had on him, but because it has actually brought his family closer together and allowed him to help and inspire other men with prostate cancer.

He has chosen to use his own experience and his medical knowledge from his position with the Army to help other men newly diagnosed with prostate cancer navigate the maze of treatment options and the side effects associated with treatment. Mr. Minter initially got involved with prostate cancer advocacy by joining a local support group in his community, where he became a voice and advocate for men with prostate cancer to help them gain a better understanding of available treatment options and to encourage them to always question and research treatment options presented to them. His local community involvement quickly expanded to a national calling through UsToo International, ZERO – The End of Prostate Cancer, and the South Carolina Cancer Alliance Prostate Cancer Workgroup, where he currently serves on the board of directors.

Through his participation with these national organizations, Mr. Minter first learned about the PCRP and immediately knew he wanted to get involved. He was primarily drawn to PCRP consumer involvement as a way to learn about the research that was being proposed and the impact it would have on the prostate cancer community. Additionally, as an Army veteran himself, he realized the importance of the DoD funding prostate cancer research to help the many service members and veterans who have survived or currently live with the disease.

Mr. Minter first served as a peer reviewer for PCRP in 2016 and describes his experience as very rewarding, feeling his opinion was greatly valued and that he gained a deeper understanding of the current state of prostate cancer research. He was impressed by the interaction between the scientists and consumers and felt that the combination of different perspectives provided a solid basis for reaching a consensus on scoring the proposals. After serving as a peer reviewer, he sees great promise in the future of prostate cancer research. He believes that work supported by the PCRP will ultimately lead to ground breaking discoveries with huge impact on the lives of not only fellow service members, but all men affected by prostate cancer.