PR2004 Nov 11

NEWS BRIEF

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Wendy Jones 205-391-2310

FREE PROSTATE SCREENING OFFERED AT UNITY CENTER

TUSCALOOSA – The Unity Center on the Fredd Campus of Shelton State Community College, in cooperation with Maude Whatley Health Services and the National Prostate Cancer Coalition, will host a free Prostate Cancer Screening on Wednesday, November 17 from 10 A.M. to 6 P.M. No appointment is necessary.

The National Prostate Cancer Coalition (NPCC) manages a national mobile screening and education campaign called the Drive Against Prostate Cancer. Working with local partners, the organizations screened 20,000 men across the United States in 2003. The goals of the program include raising awareness of the disease; reaching out to underserved populations, especially communities at higher risk of the disease, and veterans; and educating men and women about early detection, treatments and clinical trials.

The NPCC and its partners believe that mobile screening provides a unique venue for educating men and women about prostate cancer, clinical trials, treatments and becoming better health advocates. Screenings are also effective at raising awareness and reaching out to underserved communities.

The Drive Against Prostate Cancer program provides optimal medical care at each screening event. Each man receives a blood test, the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test and a physical exam, the Digital Rectal Exam (DRE). A licensed phlebotomist draws the blood sample and a urologist, urology resident or a family practitioner performs the physical exam. Two doctors and two phlebotomists can screen approximately 12 men per hour.

Organizations like the American Cancer Society and the American Urological Society recommend that men fifty years or older should be screened yearly. African American men, men with close relatives with prostate cancer and veterans who have been exposed to Agent Orange are at higher risk and should start screenings at age 40 or 45. Additional information on NPCC's is available at www.pcacoalition.org.

For more information on the free November 17 screening in Tuscaloosa, contact Carolyn Edwards at The Unity Center at 205-391-2648 or cedwards@sheltonstate.edu.

# # #