Mount Sinai and Brooke Shields Urge Families to Have “The Talk” About Prostate Cancer Screening
New PSA uses actress’s personal story to encourage conversations aimed at reaching 1 million men in New York
Mount Sinai and Brooke Shields Urge Families to Have “The Talk” About Prostate Cancer Screening
New York, NY, Oct. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Actress, model, and advocate Brooke Shields is partnering with Mount Sinai Health System and its Milton and Carroll Petrie Department of Urology on a new public service announcement (PSA), directed by Ms. Shields, encouraging families to have an important conversation with the men they love: “the talk” about prostate cancer screening.
Created in partnership with Bungalow Media & Entertainment and producer Deborah Riley Draper, the 30-second PSA puts a humorous spin on a conversation that many families should be having. The video opens with adult children sitting their aging parents down for “the talk.” The parents initially assume their children are preparing to discuss sex and relationships. Instead, the children reveal that they want to talk about something that can be just as difficult to bring up: prostate cancer screening.
The lighthearted conversation takes a personal turn when Ms. Shields appears at the end of the PSA and says that she wishes she had talked about prostate cancer screening with her father, Francis “Frank” Shields, Jr., who died in 2003 after having prostate cancer for many years.
The message is simple: start the conversation before it is too late.
“Losing my father to prostate cancer is something that has stayed with me throughout my life,” says Ms. Shields. “I often wish we had talked more openly about prostate cancer screening, and that’s why I’m so passionate about encouraging families to have ‘the talk’—even when it feels uncomfortable. A simple conversation can lead to a screening, and a screening can give someone the chance to take action.”
“We approached this campaign with a little humor and a lot of love,” she adds.
The PSA features Ash Tewari, MBBS, MCh, Kyung Hyun Kim, MD, Professor and Chair of the Milton and Carroll Petrie Department of Urology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Tewari appears as part of his Million Strong Men Initiative, an effort to reach and screen 1 million men for prostate cancer.
“Prostate cancer is often a disease that families don’t talk about until there is a reason to,” says Dr. Tewari. “We want to change that. Starting the conversation early can give men an opportunity to learn about their risk, talk with their doctors about screening, and act when appropriate.”
Robert Friedman, Bungalow’s CEO and producer of the campaign, adds, “This is the first of a number of spots featuring celebrity directors who have a personal connection to and a passion about prostate cancer screening awareness.”
The PSA launches as Mount Sinai researchers begin EXPAND-PC, a five-year, $4.2 million project funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop and evaluate a community-based approach to improving prostate cancer screening and early detection among men living in underserved communities.
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men in the United States, but screening rates have declined in recent years. Barriers such as limited access to health care, transportation challenges, lack of awareness, and difficulty navigating follow-up care can make it harder for some men to receive timely screening and diagnosis. Men at average risk should start talking to their doctor about prostate cancer screening at age 50. Those conversations may begin earlier for African American men or those with a close relative, such as a father or brother, diagnosed with prostate cancer before age 65.
EXPAND-PC is led by Dr. Tewari as Principal Investigator, along with Nihal E. Mohamed, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology and Director of Patient Education and Behavioral Research in the Department of Urology.
The study will be conducted in two phases. First, researchers will work with community members and other stakeholders to refine the program and ensure it reflects the needs of the communities it is designed to serve. The team will then conduct a randomized feasibility trial involving 240 men across eight New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) communities to evaluate whether the approach is practical, is acceptable to participants, and shows promise in improving prostate cancer screening and related outcomes.
The Mount Sinai Robert F. Smith Mobile Prostate Cancer Screening Unit, originally conceptualized and led by Dr. Tewari, will be an integral part of the project, bringing prostate cancer screening services directly to participating NYCHA communities. Since its launch in April 2022, the program, supported by a generous donation from Robert F. Smith, has screened more than 17,000 men through Mount Sinai’s New York City mobile unit and an Atlanta-based mobile unit with Emory University. Approximately 20 percent of those screened have required follow-up care.
The program brings prostate cancer screening closer to communities that may face barriers to accessing preventive health care. The mobile unit will be paired with education, shared decision-making, support for social needs, and connections to follow-up care when needed.
“Screening is only one part of early cancer detection,” says Dr. Mohamed. “We want to understand how we can address the broader challenges that can make it difficult for men to access screening, understand their options, and navigate care. By bringing these services together in the community and working alongside residents and community organizations, we hope to develop an approach that is both practical and meaningful for the people we serve.”
EXPAND-PC builds on Mount Sinai’s longstanding engagement with NYCHA communities and will involve community leaders, advocacy organizations, health care providers, and a community outreach and engagement board. Community input will help guide the program’s development and implementation.
The project addresses a critical gap in preventive health care. While clinical guidelines recommend that men discuss the potential benefits and risks of prostate cancer screening with their health care providers, not all men engage in those conversations. Mobile health programs can bring health services and education closer to communities that may face barriers to accessing traditional health care settings.
“Our goal is not simply to increase the number of men who are screened,” says Dr. Tewari. “It is to help men make informed decisions and, when screening is appropriate, ensure they can access the care and follow-up they need. If successful, this model could offer a practical framework for reaching underserved communities well beyond New York City.”
The PSA is part of a broader effort to make conversations about prostate cancer screening easier to start—and to bring screening services closer to communities that need them. By combining public awareness, community outreach, mobile screening, behavioral research, and connections to clinical care, Mount Sinai researchers hope to reach more men earlier and help reduce barriers to timely prostate cancer detection.
The project is supported by a five-year, $4,199,694 NIH grant (award number 1R01MD021739-01A1). The Department of Urology currently manages 12 active major grants from public and foundational sources. Previous R01 projects include the following: Artificial Intelligence Enabled Stroma Weighted Automated Grading System to Improve Risk Stratification in Black Men, IF135701028; Prostate Cancer Immunotherapy Program, IN135701017; and Mobile Prostate Cancer Screening, IN135701019.
To learn more about prostate cancer screening, visit www.mountsinai.org/prostatescreening.
Watch the public service announcement featuring and directed by Brooke Shields on the Mount Sinai Health System’s YouTube channel.
Learn more about the Mount Sinai Robert F. Smith Mobile Prostate Cancer Screening Unit at www.mountsinai.org/care/cancer/services/prostate/mobile-screening.
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