Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among American men (excluding skin cancers) and the second leading cause of cancer death in men after lung cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 198,100 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed this year in the United States and 31,500 men will die of the disease.

"Prostate cancer affects one in six men and awareness about the disease has benefited, as breast cancer has, from a strong advocacy movement," said Selma R. Schimmel, Founder and CEO of Vital Options® International TeleSupport® Cancer Network and host of The Group Room, produced by Vital Options in association with Premiere Radio Networks, the nation's largest radio network.

"Survival figures for prostate cancer are on the rise, especially with early detection, but today men have various treatment options depending on their age, stage of disease and lifestyle preferences," she added.

Joining Schimmel and The Group Room's radiation oncologist Dr. Leslie Botnick and therapist Halina Irving, MFCC, will be medical oncologist Dr. Derek Raghavan and surgical urologist Dr. Robert E. Reiter.

Raghavan is Chief of Medical Oncology, Professor of Medicine and Urology, and Associate Director of the USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine.

Reiter is Associate Professor of Urology and Associate Director of the Prostate Cancer Program at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The Group Room airs live every Sunday (4-6 pm ET; 1-3 pm PT), reaching more than half-a-million radio listeners a week in addition to its worldwide web audience, which hears the show simulcast on the Internet at www.vitaloptions.org. Callers can enter discussions by dialing 1-800-GRP-ROOM (1-800-477-7666).

All phone calls to The Group Room are screened by a licensed oncology social worker. During the week, individuals can reach Vital Options for support or to receive more information about cancer resources or stations carrying the broadcast.

Founded in 1983 when Schimmel was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 28, Vital Options was the first organization to address issues related to young adults with cancer before expanding to include issues and information related to everyone touched by cancer. In 2001, Vital Options was officially renamed Vital Options International to reflect its international expansion.

Vital Options International is a not-for-profit cancer communications, support and advocacy organization headquartered in southern California. Vital Options and The Group Room are supported through educational grants from founding sponsor Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and corporate sponsors Ortho Biotech Products, L.P., Pharmacia Oncology and Genentech BioOncology Inc.

Ortho Biotech Products, L.P., and Pharmacia Oncology are also the leading sponsors of Vital Options International's growth in the European market.