The second annual Blue Jacket Fashion Show was held February 7, 2018 at Pier59 Studios as part of CFDA's New York Men's Fashion Week. The Blue Jacket Fashion Show benefitted the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF), founded by philanthropist and financier Michael Milken.
In addition to Dr Oz, celebs on hand included TV personality Carson Kressley, NY Jets’ Buster Skrine, former model and TV personality Nigel Barker, model Alex Lundqvist, actor Mario Cantone, CNN Anchor Don Lemon, celebrity personality Dr. Mike Varshavski, actor Dominic Fumusa, actor Harry Lennix, actor Eric West, actor Billy Porter, as well as a patient, Todd Seals who has been living with prostate cancer.
And why should dads be paying attention to this? Because, prostate cancer is the most prevalent cancer affecting men exclusively, with one in nine of us diagnosed in the U.S. and 14 million affected worldwide. Men of African descent are 73% more likely to develop prostate cancer than Caucasian men and twice as likely to die from it. Men with relatives – father, brother, son – with a history of prostate cancer are also twice as likely to develop the disease. Prostate cancer continues to take a life of a man every 20 minutes. That's the scary part, the good news is with early detection, prostate cancer is treatable. You can find more info at the Prostate Cancer Foundation's website.
The Blue Jacket Fashion Show brought together the fashion, entertainment, healthcare, and media worlds around a national platform to openly discuss men's cancer issues, with an emphasis on prostate cancer. The event coincided with February's Cancer Prevention Month and New York Men's Fashion Week.
And more notable than the celebrities was the appearance of prostate cancer survivor Todd Seals. He is a 54 year old husband, father, and friend from Washington state. At the time he was diagnosed, Todd was 42 and considered himself to be healthy, so when he went to the doctor for back pain, his diagnosis of advanced prostate cancer came as a complete shock. Todd’s prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels were already extremely high at the time of his first test (over 3,200), which is why he now expresses the importance of early detection and regular prostate cancer screenings.
It has been over 10 years since his diagnosis and Todd is still able to do the things he loves, including spending time with his family, playing guitar, singing, biking, camping, and traveling. Todd credits much of his outdoor activity and enthusiasm to his wife, Mandy, saying, “We decided to live our lives out loud—that we needed to live life, instead of just surviving it.” And he is walking the Blue Jacket fashion show to help bring awareness to Prostate cancer.
The Janssen Pharmaceutical Company of Johnson & Johnson was a sponsor of this event.
