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Beebe Medical Center Offers Free Prostate Cancer Screenings in September
08/24/07
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer, other than skin cancers, in American men, according to the American Cancer Society. One out of every six men will get prostate cancer. Yet, if their cancer is detected and treated early, most of them will survive.
During September, National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, Beebe Medical Center will draw attention to this disease by offering free prostate cancer screenings. The screenings will take place Wednesday, September 26, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Tunnell Cancer Center. Beebe Medical Center urologists will be volunteering their time to do the screenings. Appointments are required and must be made by calling 645-3100, ext. 2666.
"The chances for long-term survival with a good quality of life vastly increase when the diagnosis of prostate cancer is made early," says Cathy Ward, Beebe Medical Center's Cancer Screening Nurse Navigator.
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), men should get a prostate-specific antigen blood test (PSA) and digital rectal exam (DRE) yearly beginning at age 50. Men at high risk should begin testing at age 45. Men at high risk include African-American men and men who have a close relative (father, brother, or son) who had prostate cancer before age 65. Men at even higher risk (because they have several close relatives with prostate cancer at an early age) should begin testing at age 40. Depending on the results of the first tests, they might not need more testing until age 45.
The ACS's statistics show overall, 99% of men diagnosed with prostate cancer survive at least five years. Further, 92% survive at least 10 years, and 61% survive at least 15 years.
Ninety percent of all prostate cancers are found while they are still within the prostate or only in nearby areas. The five-year relative survival rate for these men is nearly 100%.
For the men whose cancer has already spread to distant parts of the body when it is found, 34% will survive at least five years.
The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be nearly 219,000 new cases of prostate cancer in the United States in 2007. More than 27,000 men will die of this disease.
Beebe Medical Center is a not-for-profit community medical center with a charitable 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 www.beebemed.org.
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