Making a Difference | Harrisburg Senators blue weekend raises prostate cancer awareness

All kinds of gifts will be exchanged this weekend to celebrate dads on Father's Day. But, there's one unique gift that will be given at the Harrisburg Senator's baseball games.

"Blue Weekend" is making a difference when it comes to prostate cancer awareness.

Dr. Thomas Clements, a urologist with Urology of Central PA, says men tend to be a little timid about talking about their health in addition to talking about things like their prostate and potentially getting screened.

So, if the men aren't going to the doctor to talk about their prostate health, the doctors are going to them, and what better place than a baseball game? That's how the Harrisburg Senators' "Blue weekend" was born.

The Senators are partnering with the PA Prostate Cancer Coalition, ZERO, and Urology of Central PA for this awareness campaign.

"It's going to give them the opportunity to touch directly with the folks who are the experts and can help them protect themselves and know about the disease and how to deal with it," said Randy Whitaker, general manager of the Harrisburg Senators.

They can talk to experts like Dr. Clements and Dr. Charles Reninger, who is the medical director for oncology at UPMC Pinnacle.

Dr. Reninger lost his dad to prostate cancer: "prostate cancer is a serious disease and men do die of it, but when its caught early it's a disease that has an extremely long natural history and there are many available treatments to treat the disease."

And then there's Michael Rotz, who became an unwilling “expert” in the disease when he was diagnosed three years ago with prostate cancer. The father of four daughters has a family history of the disease and has been getting screened and checked since he was 40 years old.

He had surgery and says there is no sign of the cancer anymore.

He will also be at all three games this weekend, representing the non-profit ZERO, as the Senators take on the Reading Fightin’ Phils, while dads and their families take in potentially life-saving information.

"It's just nice to know that the treatments work, the testing works and I'm here another year to celebrate Father's day this weekend and I'm very thankful for that," said Rotz.