-information courtesy of Donna Young, MPH marketing & communication coordinator
September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and the doctors and staff of Maria Parham Health are once again providing free prostate screenings for men in the community.
The screening event will take place on Thursday, Sept. 29 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. No appointments are needed; just show up at the hospital.
According to a press release from Donna Young, marketing & communication coordinator, all men are at risk for prostate cancer. Although about 13 out of every 100 American men will get prostate cancer during their lifetime, and of that figure several will die from it.
The most common risk factor is age. The older a man is, the greater the chance of getting prostate cancer, but some men are at an increased risk. African American men are more likely to get prostate cancer than other men, and more than twice as likely to die from it. African American men tend to get diagnosed at an earlier age, have more advanced disease when it is found, and tend to have a more severe type of prostate cancer than other men. Men who have a close blood relative (father, son or brother) who had prostate cancer are also at an increased risk. The American Cancer Society recommends screenings for men 50 or older and those at a higher risk beginning at 45.
For more information, call the Maria Parham Cancer Center at 252.436.1656.