Maria Parham Health is sponsoring a free prostate cancer screening on Thursday, Sept. 29 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Cancer Center Director Kim Smith and Hope Breedlove, a social worker who helps clients navigate the process of getting screened, reviewing results and understanding treatment options encourage men in the community to come take part in what they describe as a simple, and necessary, process for early detection of prostate cancer.
Smith and Breedlove spoke with John C. Rose on Monday’s The Local Skinny! and said the two-hour event is free and will observe COVID-19 safety protocols. There is no need to make an appointment – simply show up to the main entrance of the hospital, located on Ruin Creek Road.
As an added bonus, Smith said the “Strollin’ Colon” will be on hand to remind people to schedule their colonoscopies.
Over the last couple of years, regular checkups and screenings may have been postponed because of the ongoing pandemic, but Smith said it’s time to get back on schedule “we’ve got to get our screenings the way we’re supposed to,” she said.
Breedlove said her role as social worker is to help get patients registered, guide them through the process of the screening, then help get lab results out in the mail. If patients need additional follow-up care or treatment of some sort, Breedlove is available to help manage that part of the process, too.
“I get them linked up with the care they need,” Breedlove said.
Men over the age of 50 are more likely to see elevated PSAs, Smith noted. African American males are at a higher risk, and she said it is important to spread the news of the screening throughout the community.
“This is something that has to be done as (men) get older,” she said of the prostate screening.
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