Self-described serial entrepreneur Tom Milana was not expecting a routine doctor鈥檚 appointment to turn into a mission to educate men about health and wellness. At just 48 years young, Milana was diagnosed with prostate cancer. That was 10 years ago.
An early diagnosis and intervention meant Milana was cured, but the path was set for Milana to establish what today has become a national charity saving men鈥檚 lives. The Milana family is not new to philanthropy, having established the Milana Family Foundation to raise money for children in need, but Milana鈥檚 diagnosis shifted the family鈥檚 and the Foundation鈥檚 priorities.
鈥淚f you build a better experience for men at the doctor鈥檚 office, more men will focus on their health,鈥� Milana explained. Hence, the birth of . The organization鈥檚 first project set out to create spaces in healthcare facilities that mirrored a men鈥檚 lounge with the goal of creating a comfortable environment for men to focus on their health.
The organization provides virtual support groups, education, and resources and launched a new initiative in 2024 focused on early detection of prostate cancer.
鈥淢ore than 30,000 men a year die of prostate cancer, mainly because they find out too late,鈥� Milana said.
Man Cave Health began offering mobile testing for prostate cancer and has tested more than 5,000 men, several of whom discovered elevated prostate specific antigen levels, which can indicate early signs of prostate cancer, enabling earlier diagnosis and intervention. By September of 2025, Man Cave Health will operate three mobile testing units across the country with the goal of launching 25 units over the next five years, providing 鈥渁 welcoming space where men can access PSA tests, educational resources, and consultations in a comfortable, judgment-free environment,鈥� according to mancavehealth.org.
Milana is used to seizing on opportunities, translating a background in finance into a successful restaurant business with five establishments on Long Island, including Stellina, in just five years. That propensity to continuously evolve has meant Man Cave Health is ever changing.
After a visit to 黑料吃瓜资源 (CSHL), Milana saw how funding prostate cancer research in Professor Lloyd Trotman鈥檚 lab aligned with the nonprofit鈥檚 mission to empower men with the tools and resources needed to be healthy. In fact, Milana and his wife Adriana are hosting a sold-out benefit concert this summer: Concert on the Cove.
鈥淲hen I visited Lloyd鈥檚 lab, I knew we had to support his work,鈥� Milana said.
Trotman has pioneered research in prostate cancer, having generated a unique mouse model to test prostate cancer therapeutics and more recently developed 3-d imaging technology, enabling researchers to visualize cancer and metastatic progression.
In October 2024, Trotman published a study that found the pro-oxidant supplement menadione slows prostate cancer progression in mice. Menadione is a precursor to vitamin K, commonly found in leafy greens. The study was two decades in the making, having been developed after a study that started in 2001 by the National Cancer Institute showed that antioxidants failed to treat prostate cancer and in fact made it worse. Trotman thus tested the reverse theory that he now hopes to take into pilot studies with human prostate cancer patients.
鈥淥ur target group would be men who get biopsies and have an early form of the disease diagnosed,鈥� Trotman says. 鈥淲e wonder if they start to take the supplement, whether we would be able to slow that disease down.鈥�
Trotman, who is also a resident of Oyster Bay, has been working on prostate cancer for more than 20 years, much of that time at CSHL.
鈥淟loyd鈥檚 focus is on finding a way to reverse metastasis and on how nutrition and vitamins can impact cancer development,鈥� Milana said. 鈥淭hat is amazing stuff.鈥�
Two Long Islanders are making a big difference in men鈥檚 health in their own way. The work of Man Cave Health has meant better outcomes for men鈥檚 health nationwide. Coupled with the work of Trotman鈥檚 lab, Milana and his nonprofit could impact the lives of men and their families for years to come.