St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page B001

PAGE B01MD2ME0819 SECTION HURSDAY A UGUST 19 2004 ETRO OUIS ETRO OUIS 100 Black Men steps up, confronts prostate cancer MEN HAVE unspoken codes of conduct. If conversation in a restroom, eye contact is a must never look down. Crying is taboo, unless sports-related. We may hug each other, but the hearty backslap to manly it up is required. Also, according to our code, we do not talk about our fears.

Like most red-blooded American men, I respect the codes. Especially the one about fear. Oh, talk about universal fears like tornadoes, roller coasters or a Dick Cheney presidency. But I talk about personal fears, things like prostate cancer. Dr.

Leslie R. Schover, an associate professor at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, addressed this male fear a few years ago in an article that appeared on the CancerWise Web site. in our culture are brought up with the male stereotype to be strong, uncomplaining and tough.

For many men, even an annual checkup is a sign of Schover said. He has a point. The idea of asking a male colleague, your prostate seems a tad awkward. Women have that problem. not uncommon to hear them talk about illnesses.

They encourage one another to routinely visit doctors. The program, a collaborative effort between television KSDK (Channel 5) and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, emphasizes the importance of breast self-examinations. The survival rate is high when prostate cancer is detected in its early stages. The most effective means of detecting the disease is a antigen (PSA) blood test as well as a digital rectal exam.

But, according to the Cancer- Wise article, some men believe an exam involving the rectum is shameful. Others worry about sexual dysfunction after treatment. There should be something similar to Friends program that encourages prostate exams. Of course, be no soft music or The male version would have to be beefed up. Perhaps such a campaign could be given a Schwarzenegger inspired action-oriented name like I jest, but prostate cancer is no joking matter.

the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men. More than 230,000 men will be diagnosed, and nearly 30,000 will die from prostate cancer this year, according to an estimate from the National Prostate Cancer Coalition. Black men diagnosed with prostate cancer are twice as likely to die from the disease than whites. The disparity may stem from differences in how soon blacks receive medical care, according to an article that appeared in May in the American Journal of Public Health. Maybe time for men, especially black men, to step outside the stereotype and be proactive about prostate cancer.

what organizers of the second annual Prostate Cancer Survivors Awareness Walk this weekend are hoping. The St. Louis chapter of 100 Black Men and Blue Cross- Blue Shield are hosting a one- mile walk this Saturday to raise awareness about prostate cancer. Walkers will start at 1831 Chestnut and walk to the site of the Missouri Black Expo at the Center. Men 35 and older will receive a free PSA blood test provided by the Siteman Cancer Center.

Billy Davis of the famed group the Fifth Dimension is this spokesman. Davis, a prostate cancer survivor, will participate in a Black Expo panel discussion with physicians and other prostate cancer survivors. Davis may not be as macho as Schwarzenegger, but among a growing group of celebrity prostate cancer survivors publicly discussing their battles with the disease. Some include politicians John Kerry, Bob Dole and Colin Powell and entertainers Sydney Poitier, Robert DeNiro and Roger Moore. I applaud the 100 Black decision to sponsor the walk.

It will raise much-needed awareness about prostate cancer. Some will receive treatment. Just as important, the walk will give some of us guys the opportunity to break the code and address our fears. To register for the second annual Prostrate Cancer Survivors Awareness Walk call 314-385-2100 or log on to: www.100bmstl.org. E-mail: Phone: 314-340-8374 Talk in his forum: STLtoday.com/sbrown Political ads are through roof for August First black federal judge here served over 28 years as jurist Stadium opponents get measure on ballot EARS FOR THE CAMERA Olympics may be reason for huge buys ANNIES Post-Dispatch Political Correspondent Missouri TV viewers watching the Olympic athletes are seeing a lot of record-setting action between the sporting events.

Candidates and their allied groups are spending record sums to air campaign ads at unprecedented levels. The spending is surprising because August is among the months when people are least likely to watch television, traditionally prompting candidates to slash their spending until viewers return to TV after Labor Day, said Evan Tracey, head of Campaign Media Analysis Group, a national that monitors campaign ads. At the moment, pacesetter is the Democratic National Committee, which is spending more than $410,000 a week on ads that pummel President George W. Bush or praise his Democratic rival, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.

almost twice as much as Bush is spending on his own behalf. Still, the spending in Missouri, now just over $212,000 a week, is sharply up from just a few weeks ago. think the Bush campaign was waiting for the Olympics, because they wanted the ads to air on programs that are guaranteed an Tracey said. The Democratic National Committee is spending lots of money in Missouri and other battleground states, so Kerry can conserve his $75 million in federal campaign funds that must last him until Nov. 2.

Bush can spend his own campaign money until he accepts his nomination on Sept. 2, when he also shifts to the federal money. The big question now is whether the Democratic National Committee can maintain its spending pace through the two months, Tracey said. He expects the Republican National Committee to spend lots of money during those months on behalf of Bush. Tracey said targeted states are seeing most of the presidential ads: Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Nationwide, the presidential candidates and their allies have spent $240 million so far. more than the just over $200 million spent in all of 2000, Tracey said. day sets a new IM RYANT Of the Post-Dispatch Senior U.S. District Judge Clyde S. Cahill, whose relaxed courtroom demeanor masked a commitment to civil rights, died at his St.

Louis home Wednesday morning (Aug. 18, 2004). He was 81. Judge Cahill had said in interviews over the years that the lynching of a black man in Sikeston, in 1941 fired his interest in civil rights. The man, Cleo Wright, was lynched for allegedly raping a white woman.

President Jimmy Carter appointed Judge Cahill to the U.S. District Court in 1980, making him the black federal trial judge here. Even after taking senior status, and a reduced caseload, in the early 1990s, Judge Cahill continued to preside over the long-running lawsuit over conditions at the City Jail. Inmates sued the city in the early 1970s because of overcrowding. As a result of Judge prodding, St.

Louis officials moved toward construction of new jail facilities. Before becoming a St. Louis Circuit Court judge in 1975, Judge Cahill was executive director of the Legal Aid Society of St. Louis. From 1968 to 1972, he was general manager of the Human Development Corp.

He worked previously as a lawyer for the Na- tional Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Judge Cahill got his law degree from St. Louis University in 1951, then conducted a solo law practice for years. He then served as an assistant circuit attorney for nine years before taking the job as regional counsel in Kansas City for the federal of Economic Opportunity. Nearly all lawyers who appeared before Judge Cahill described him as courteous and compassionate.

He infrequently chided lawyers during trials. At the close of trials, Judge Cahill fervently thanked jurors for their service, reminding them of the importance of their civic duty. Judge Cahill was frequently critical of federal guidelines that require long prison sentences in drug cases. In handing down decades of prison time, Judge Cahill sometimes told defendants in a sympathetic tone that they would be old men when released. In 1994, Judge Cahill ruled as unconstitutional the section of federal law that requires longer sentences for those convicted of crack cocaine crimes compared with those convicted of crimes involving cocaine powder.

Judge Cahill noted that the requirement fell most heavily on blacks, who make up the majority of crack offenders. He said the crack law was a result of ARTIN AN ER ERF Of the Post-Dispatch Voters in St. Louis County will get the chance to decide in November on a measure that was designed to block county funding for the new stadium being built downtown for the St. Louis Cardinals. But would it? The county Board of Election Commissioners certified on Wednesday the validity of signatures turned in by stadium opponents, guaranteeing that a charter amendment will appear on the ballot.

The measure would prevent the county from spending any public money on a professional sports stadium. The proposed amendment casts a shadow over the ability to pay off $46 million in bonds it sold in December to help pay for the stadium. Lawyers for the county have advised that they think the amendment, even if passed, will affect the payments. But Fred Lindecke, a former Post- Dispatch reporter who led the drive to get the measure on the ballot, said that if it passes, the county will be unable to pay principal and interest on the bonds without first getting approval from voters. Lindecke said if voters ap- prove the measure, they will save $110 million the total the county will pay for the principal and interest.

That money be spent on legitimate public services, instead of being wasted on subsidizing the millionaire owners of the he said. County officials were girding themselves Wednesday for a campaign to justify the unanimous council decision to issue the bonds. will try to make voters aware of what we did and why we did said council Chairman Skip Mange, R- Town and Country. county cannot isolate itself from the interests of the city and the Mac Scott, a spokesman for County Executive Charlie A. Dooley, said he believes the majority of county voters approved of spending public money on the stadium.

But if the measure passes, he said, the fight will have just begun. would indicate that on issues like this, that are fraught with this many twists and turns, it will probably come down to a court Scott said. Mange said he had been repeatedly assured by county lawyers, as well as bond and tax attorneys, that if the Get more political news online at STLtoday.com/election2004. AKE AGMAN Of the Post-Dispatch St. Louis Public Schools has placed dozens of advertisements in newspapers, on billboards and bus stops promoting the first day of school.

The ads fea- ture a diverse, eager group of children next to the slogan But you see the kids pictured on the ad in school on the day. Not in St. Louis, at least. They are not St. Louis Public School students.

The photograph is a generic shot, downloaded from the Internet by a design contracted by the district. Assistant Superintendent Charlene Jones, who iscoor- dinating the day efforts, said it matter whether the children in the ad are actual St. Louis students. me, not important where the kids come Jones said. important is the message we are trying to send, which is we want you in Jones said that the photo, though not district students, met the diversity the district was looking for the group sitting on what could be school house steps includes black and white youths, males and females of different ages.

The ads are part of a $45,000 campaign to promote the day for St. Louis schools, Sept. 7. The historically poor record of getting students to school on the day more than one in did not show last year has been a frequent target of critics who call it symbolic of the other ills. To help attendance, district of- will once again speak in A time crunch and getting permission from parents are cited as reasons a photo from the Internet was used instead.

HUY RICHARD MACH The St. Louis Public campaign to boost attendance on the day of classes appears on bus shelters around the city. CAMPAIGN 2004 Final say on $46 million might come from courts missing in city schools ad? St. Louis students See Photo, B3 See Ads, B3 See Stadium, B3 See Cahill, B3 KEVIN MANNING Terry Kizlyk uses a straw broom to attract the attention of Strut Like This for a photo Wednesday at the National Equestrian Center in Lake Saint Louis. The American quarter horse and its handlers, owners and rider, Chad Piper being photographed by son Shane Kizlyk.

Terry Kizlyk describes herself as an explaining, get his attention and it makes his ears go up and look all Strut Like This is a participant in the Reichert Celebration, an annual American Quarter Horse Association event, which runs through Sunday at the equestrian center. CLYDE S. CAHILL 1923-2004 POST-DISPATCH PHOTO Clyde S. Cahill at his swearing- in 1980 as a U.S. District Court judge..