I had an interesting conversation with a group of pastors a while ago. We started talking about prostate cancer and the number of people who get it. It seemed that almost all of us had people in our congregations or in our families with prostate cancer.

Here is a quote from a web page I recently visited. “If you’re male, chances are the health of your prostate will be a concern as you grow older. Statistics show that 50% of men over 40 and 85% of men over 80 experience problems with their prostate.”

One of the pastors said that a doctor told him that anyone who lives long enough, is almost certain to get prostate cancer. After some discussion of this happy subject, one of the pastors asked what my experience has been. I told him that I take a pill that is supposed to promote prostate health. I’ve been taking the pill for five or six years.

The pill that I take is produced by a network marketing company. As a customer I could sell the pill to others and get a percentage of the selling price for making the sale. I have never sold any of these pills to anyone. I don’t consider network marketing to be unethical, but I do consider a pastor profiting from selling something to members of his own congregation unethical. I don’t do that, and I won’t do it.

I know enough about the laws that govern advertising products like this to know that it would be illegal to claim that this product will prevent prostate cancer. There would have to be extensive studies proving such a claim before that claim could be made. Advertising must be done in other ways.

It is legal to report the results of studies that have been done. The person who designed the pill that I take reads many medical studies. I’ve never heard of another person who has read as many studies as he has.

His name is Dr. Earl Mindell. We both graduated from North Dakota State University. His degree was in Pharmacy. Mine was in Mechanical Engineering. He went on to other schools and earned a doctorate in nutrition.

He cautions people about believing testimonials, and tells people not to trust the results of poorly designed studies. He trusts well designed double blind studies, where half the people are given the actual pill and the other half are given placebos or fake pills. The study should involve a large number of subjects and they should be studied for a long period of time.

There have been a number of studies about the benefits of an extract from the plant Serenoa repens. One was published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and another in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The plant extract is one of the ingredients in the pill that I take. There are other studies pertaining to the other ingredients that make up the pill that I take.

I haven’t read any of the studies. I have read a book written by Dr. Earl Mindell. I was convinced to trust his work after reading one of his books. The book I read is his best selling book and the title is “The Vitamin Bible for the 21st Century.”

I actually take two pills designed by Dr. Mindell. One is a daily multi vitamin, and the other is a pill designed to promote a healthy prostate. Prostate cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers in men. I don’t wish it on anyone, and I believe that we can do things that will reduce the risk of this disease.

One of the most prevalent diseases among women is osteoporosis. There are quite a few pills that have been designed to prevent bone density loss associated with osteoporosis.

I believe the God inspires people to work in the medical field. Some do research, some do general practice and others design, manufacture, and distribute pills. They become tools that we use to maintain our health.

I don’t want to profit from selling you pills. I also don’t want to withhold information that I am convinced is important for good health. I hope that many of the men in this congregation who pass their 80th birthday will be among the 15% of the population that does not have prostate cancer.

May God bless you and keep you in good health.

Sincerely,

Pastor Birk