The University of Westminster’s Black Music Research Unit (BMRU) has hosted the Prostate Cancer in Black Musicians: Is Music Making You Sick? event. Taking place on the 19 April at the Regent Street Cinema, the event aimed to raise awareness of the number of jazz guitarists who have developed and died of prostate cancer, and to assess risks for the disease among black musicians.
The event featured a short movie screening, presentations from the Orchids Cancer and Prostate Cancer Research charities, and a panel discussion with a Q&A session. From the University of Westminster, the panel included Dr Mykaell Riley Co-Organiser and Chair, and Reader in Music; Dr Pinar Uysal-Onganer, Co-Organiser, Reader in Molecular Biology, and prostate cancer researcher; Dr Claire Robertson, Senior Lecturer in Epidemiology; and Catherine Loveday, Professor of Neuropsychology. To them joined Greg Shaw, Professor of Urology from University College London, and guest musician Wayne Campbell and others who shared their personal experiences and stories. The talk was the first of two appointments on April 19th for Wayne. The second was the appointment for his prostate operation.
The panel discussed the risks and stats on prostate cancer, current research, clinical trials and treatment options, and the connection between mental health and music. They explored questions, such as the reason behind the high number of prostate cancer cases among jazz guitarists, the lifestyle choices musicians make, and the possibility of the prostate gland being affected by the electromagnetic field of electric guitars.
Talking about the event, Dr Riley said: It is all about creating opportunities and facilitating conversations – in this case difficult conversations. The event was emotional, informative and reassuring. Not least because it facilitated top down, with support from the University’s Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Peter Bonfield.”
Learn more about the BMRU at the University of Westminster.
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