Mount Clemens Regional's Wahby Center Offers Free Prostate Cancer Screenings

Mount Clemens Regional Medical Center’s Ted B. Wahby Cancer Center (part of the Great Lakes Cancer Institute) will be holding free prostate cancer screenings from noon-6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011. The screenings will be held at the cancer center, 1080 Harrington Blvd., Mount Clemens (located behind the hospital on the north side of the campus).

The free exams, which include both a digital rectal exam and a PSA blood test, are open to men between 45 and 75 years old. To register, please call toll free (877) 627-6248.

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in American men and the second leading cause of cancer deaths. About one out of every six men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.

Early prostate cancer usually has no symptoms. With more advanced disease, a man may experience one or more of the following. Rather than participate in a screening, men with any of these symptoms should consult a physician:

• Weak or interrupted urine flow
• Inability to urinate
• Difficulty starting or stopping the urine flow

Although the cause is unknown, studies show that the following factors increase risk:

• Age - Most cases of prostate cancer occur in men older than 50
• Race - African American men have the highest prostate cancer incidence rates in the world
• Family history - Having one or more close relatives (father, brother) with prostate cancer also increases a man’s risk of developing this disease

When detected and treated in the early stages, the survival rate is nearly 100 percent. Over the past 20 years, the survival rate for all stages of prostate cancer has improved from 67 percent to 97 percent, in large part due to early detection and treatment.