Happy Pi Day 2018!

Chances are, unless you are an actuary or a devoted mathematician, you probably don’t get that excited about Pi Day. But one thing we can all agree is exciting is free food, right?

Pi Day is an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi). Pi Day is observed on 14 March since 3, 1, and 4 are the first three significant digits of π. Although it may not be all that exciting on the surface, lots of businesses and restaurants have started to offer special deals on Pi Day – especially for an entire pizza that only costs $3.14 (Find a Blaze Pizza near you for the deal) or a free chicken pot pie (Thanks Boston Market).

So, now that the exciting part is out of the way, you may be wondering what does Pi Day have to do with prostate cancer?

Well, the truth is, not much. But it does seem like a great day to feature this “pie” chart highlighting some facts about prostate cancer.

This chart, originally posted on the National Cancer Institute website, illustrates that the large majority of cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed early (79%) when the cancer is contained to within the prostate. This means that the cancer has not spread or advanced outside of the prostate gland. Experts agree that localized prostate cancer, that is caught early, is the easiest type of prostate cancer to treat as patient have many treatment options to choose from.

The same website also provides statistics that link 5-year survival rates to staging, showing that most men will not die from prostate cancer when diagnosed early, (when cancer has not spread outside gland).

Raising awareness about prostate cancer, means raising awareness about the facts about prostate cancer – including the treatments available for prostate cancer. One of the newer treatments available for localized prostate cancer is high intensity focused ultrasound or HIFU. Learn more about HIFU and other treatments for localized prostate cancer here.

This year, we hope you enjoy your pizza pie, apple pie or chicken pot pie to mark the occasion of Pi day – and don’t forget about out prostate cancer pie chart either!