During one of the biggest days of the year for men — Super Bowl Sunday — Novartis teamed up with the NFL to deliver an educational message.
Prostate cancer screening doesn’t start with an invasive physical exam. It starts with a blood test.
The campaign has come and gone. The problem it was trying to solve is getting worse.
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New data from the American Cancer Society tells a story that should get every New Jersey man’s attention.
After years of declining incidence, prostate cancer rates have reversed course — rising 3% annually between 2014 and 2021, with late-stage diagnoses climbing even faster, at nearly 5% per year. That matters because the five-year survival rate for early-stage prostate cancer approaches 100%. For metastatic prostate cancer, it drops to 38%.
Nationally, 333,830 new prostate cancer cases and 36,320 deaths are projected in 2026. A man dies from prostate cancer every 15 minutes.
In New Jersey, 8,714 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2021 alone — making it the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death among men in the state. One in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.
And yet, as of 2020, only 15% of New Jersey men aged 40 and over reported having discussed the advantages and disadvantages of PSA testing with their doctors.
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That gap — between a simple, potentially lifesaving blood test and the number of men actually getting one — is what the Novartis “Relax, It’s a Blood Test” campaign was designed to close.
Timed to Super Bowl LX, the campaign recruited a roster of NFL legends including Super Bowl-winning coach Bruce Arians, Rob Gronkowski and 49ers star George Kittle.
For Arians, the mission was personal.
“I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2007, and early detection saved my life,” he said. “I hear men all the time say they’re hesitant to get screened because of what they think it involves. You can relax, it’s a blood test.”
Sixty percent of men still mistakenly believe that screening requires an invasive digital rectal exam — a misconception that researchers and doctors say is directly contributing to delayed diagnoses and the rise in late-stage cases.
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Novartis has a particular stake in this conversation. The company, which makes its U.S. headquarters in East Hanover, is the official pharmaceutical partner of the NFL and used that platform to do something the healthcare industry has struggled to do for years: make men pay attention.
“Novartis has a long history of tackling the toughest challenges in healthcare from our home here in East Hanover,” Novartis U.S. President Victor Bultó said. “By teaming up with the NFL, we’re empowering men nationwide to replace hesitation with action.”
The campaign was part of a broader $7.5 million commitment through the “Blitz the Barriers” initiative with ZERO Prostate Cancer, targeting communities at higher risk. Black men are 1.7 times more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than white men — and twice as likely to die from it. One in six Black men will be diagnosed in their lifetime.
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The Super Bowl spotlight has faded. The need hasn’t.
New Jersey men can visit RelaxItsABloodTest.com to find local screening resources and determine whether a PSA test is right for them.
The conversation with a doctor is the first step.
As Arians put it: you can relax. It’s a blood test.
For information about Novartis, go to novartis.com/.
