Key Note: The Impact of Prostate Cancer on Black Men

In our June episode, Dr. Martin Karpeh from Northwell Health helped us kick off Men’s Health Awareness Month, examining the unique challenges men face and sharing simple steps they can take to take charge of their health. In this month’s Key Note, Dr. Karpeh talks about his participation in a panel discussion that explored the impact that prostate cancer has on Black men. To view the video, visit The Unspoken Truth: A Dialogue on Prostate Cancer Among Black Men.  

The Takeaway

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Martin Karpeh, MD, is the director of surgical oncology at the Northwell Health Cancer Institute for Northwell facilities across eastern Long Island. He is based at Huntington Hospital, where he is chair of surgery. Dr. Karpeh specializes in gastrointestinal tumors, including stomach and esophageal cancer, and cancers of the gastroesophageal junction. In the 1990s, he helped introduce minimally invasive laparoscopic staging techniques that now guide treatment decisions, helping doctors determine whether patients receive chemotherapy before surgery for gastroesophageal junction cancer. He also treats soft tissue sarcomas and skin cancers, including melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma and Merkel cell carcinoma. Dr. Karpeh received his medical degree from the Pennsylvania State University Medical Colleges. He went on to complete his General Surgical Training at the University of Pennsylvania and later a Surgical Oncology Fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he spent more than a decade as an attending. He then spent 20 years leading surgical oncology programs at Stony Brook University Medical Center, Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center and Hackensack Meridian Health. For decades, Dr. Karpeh has worked in clinical trial development and frequently refers patients to national and international clinical studies. He is involved in translational research at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory to identify treatment targets in stomach and esophageal cancers, and has published more than 100 journal articles on stomach and gastroesophageal junction cancer. A member of the International Gastric Cancer Association, the Society of Surgical Oncology and the American Surgical Association, Dr. Karpeh is also the former president of the New York Surgical Society, New York Cancer Society and the Society of Black Academic Surgeons. Additionally, he has been named a Castle Connelly Top Doctor and New York Magazine Top Doctor over many years.