News

"Progress for Prostate" Donates New Van for Beebe Community Health Department

08/31/06

The Progress for Prostate committee, focused on raising awareness and money for prostate cancer screenings and prevention, has purchased a new van for Beebe Medical Center's Community Health Department.
The committee raises money through its annual Progress for Prostate Golf Tournament held for the past three years at Cripple Creek Golf & Country Club. To date, the annual tournament has raised almost $55,000. The most recent tournament, which took place June 22, raised approximately $22,000.
We are so grateful for the gift of this van, says Kay Malone, RN, Community Health Nurse Coordinator. It will be invaluable in improving our visibility and in assisting our community outreach activities that have special emphasis on education and encouraging people to have cancer screenings.
"Our mission is to raise awareness and funds for prostate cancer screenings and prevention, says Bob Davis, Chairman of the Progress for Prostate committee and a prostate cancer survivor. We know how important early detection of cancer is to the survival rate of the patient. This van represents our strong support of the programs Beebe Medical Center's Community Health Department brings to the men, women and children of Sussex County.
Beebe community health nurses regularly visit churches, community centers, schools and events to enhance awareness of the importance of cancer screenings. They also carry out a number of other screenings, including glucose tests and blood pressure readings, to support the Beebe Medical Center mission of encouraging healthy living, preventing illness and restoring optimal health within the community. The van will be a very important tool in this mission.
In September, Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, the department will sponsor free prostate cancer screenings where urologists on the Beebe Medical Center staff will participate. The screenings will take place Monday, September 11, and Wednesday, September 20, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Tunnell Cancer Center, located at Beebe Medical Center on Savannah Road. Appointments are required and must be made by calling (302) 645-3100, ext. 4171. Beebe has sponsored these screenings for years, and last year, screened 125 men.
Mr. Davis, who survived prostate cancer through early detection and treatment, spearheaded the idea of using a golf tournament to raise funds to help others survive cancer and also named the tournament. The annual tournament has been strongly supported by the local community, drawing participants who not only enjoy the day, but who know they are making a difference.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer, excluding skin cancers, and the leading cause of cancer death in American men. The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that during 2006 about 234,460 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in the United States. About 1 man in 6 will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime, but only 1 man in 34 in the US population will die of this disease. A little over 1.8 million men in the United States are survivors of prostate cancer.

With early screening, says Kay Malone, Men don't have to die of prostate cancer.
The new van is a Chevrolet Uplander that was purchased from C.P. Diver in Lewes. The dealership donated three years of routine maintenance.

Caption: from left to right: Kay Malone, Community Health Nurse Coordinator, Beebe Medical Center; Brenda Chisholm; Glenn Chisholm; Jeffrey Fried, President & CEO of Beebe Medical Center; Robert Davis, Chairman, Progress for Prostate; Pete Urguhrst; Judie Davis; Eric Davison, Special Events Coordinator, Beebe Medical Foundation; Mark Thompson, Director, Public Relations and Community Health, Beebe Medical Center.
Tunnell Cancer Center was established in 1995. It has received the Commission on Cancer's highest accreditation with commendation as a comprehensive community cancer center. Its clinical specialties are hematology/medical oncology and radiation oncology. Nearly 200 patients visit the center each day.

Beebe Medical Center is a not-for-profit community medical center with a mission to encourage healthy living, prevent illness, and restore optimal health with the people residing, working, or visiting in the communities we serve. For more information, please visit us online at .