About: Thomas A. Farrington – PHEN Founder

When diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2000, Thomas A. Farrington describes himself as being completely uninformed about every aspect of the disease, especially his extremely high risk level.

During his treatment period, Mr. Farrington continued to study prostate cancer and decided that his unsettling experience facing the disease, along with the experiences of other men in treatment with him could help others that would follow them along their journey of hope to beat prostate cancer. In 2001 he released “Battling The Killer Within.” The book provided an insightful look at men facing prostate cancer and the prostate care system in the United States. It highlighted the harsh impact of this system on Black men contributing to the disparity they experience.

”Battling The Killer Within” became a nationally acclaimed book. In 2003, Mr. Farrington founded the Prostate Health Education Network, a Boston, Massachusetts based non-profit organization to focus on the urgent and unmet prostate education and awareness needs of African American men. In 2005, Mr. Farrington released his second book; “Battling The Killer Within and Winning.”

Professionally, Mr. Farrington is an entrepreneur and business executive with more than 30 years experience in the Information Technology industry. In 1969, he founded Input Output Computer Services, Inc. where he served as president and chairman. This company was a pioneer in the evolution of IT professional services.

Throughout his business career, Mr. Farrington has been involved extensively in industry, civic, and community activities. He was selected one of “Ten Outstanding Young Leaders of Greater Boston”, appointed to the Export/Import Bank Advisory Board by President George H. Bush, and appointed by President Clinton to the Historically Black College Advisory Board. Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift appointed Mr. Farrington to the board of the Massachusetts Technology Park Corporation, and he serves as a board member of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Farrington is a member of St. John’s Baptist Church in Woburn, MA, the Sigma Pi Phi fraternity and a NAACP life member. He received his B.S. degree from North Carolina A&T State University in electrical engineering and attended the Northeastern University Graduate School of Engineering.

Thomas A. Farrington is a noted speaker on the issue of “Men’s Health,” where he motivates men with straight talk to take charge of their health.

The two-day summit, which is open and free to the public, will be held in the Rayburn House Office Building on Thursday, September 16th (9am – 4pm), and at the Washington Convention Center on Friday, September 17th (8:30am – 12 noon). The Friday session is hosted by Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-NY) as a part of the Congressional Black Caucus “Annual Legislative Conference.”The Thursday session will focus on new prostate cancer treatments along with clinical trials and research efforts which are underway toward future treatments. The session will examine how these new developments can reduce or eliminate the 150% African American death rate disparity. The importance, and the process, of patients making informed decisions about their treatments selections, and participating in clinical trials, will be an important part of the Thursday session.

The Friday program will highlight PHEN’s “Rally Against Prostate Cancer” (RAP Cancer) national education and awareness initiatives. Presentations by survivors and church leaders will focus on the highly successful 2010 “Father’s Day Rally” held within churches across the country. They will outline their experiences reaching men and women through this inaugural PHEN / church partnership effort. Plans and strategies for expanding church participation in the 2011 Father’s Day Rally will be presented and discussed. A major emphasis will be on goals and plans to utilize the PHEN / Church partnerships to broaden and accelerate prostate health education and awareness outreach throughout Black America with the highest levels of visibility, priority and effectiveness ever achieved.

National leaders and key decision makers will be active participants in the 2010 summit as has been the tradition for the PHEN summits since they were started in 2005.

Summit registration is now available: