Office of Public Relations — Newsroom
News Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: Lynn Gorham, 303-724-3160, lynn.gorham@uchsc.edu
Free Prostate Screenings Offered During Prostate Cancer Awareness Week, Sept. 17-20
AURORA, CO (Sept. 5, 2007) – Regular screenings are the key to detecting prostate cancer in its earliest—and most curable—stages. For the sixth year, the University of Colorado Cancer Center is offering free prostate cancer screenings during National Prostate Cancer Awareness Week, Sept. 17-20, at the Anschutz Cancer Pavilion in Aurora.
All men 40 and older should be screened each year, according to the Prostate Cancer Education Council, a national organization created to improve prostate cancer detection and treatment. PCEC also recommends that men with family history of the disease, as well as African-American and Latino men, should begin annual screenings at 35.
“Prostate cancer can be 100-percent curable when it is caught early,” said Dr. E. David Crawford, professor of urologic oncology at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center and chairman of the PCEC. “Because more men are getting screened, and because of new treatments, deaths from prostate cancer are declining.”
Last year during Prostate Cancer Awareness Week, UCCC screened more than 1,200 men. The screenings take about 15 minutes and include a digital rectal examination (DRE) and a blood test to measure prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels. PSA is a protein that is secreted by the prostate, and elevated levels may indicate that prostate cancer is present.
“Although some research concludes that elevated PSA levels may be less concerning for some men than others, it is important that men are screened each year so we can watch for changes in PSA levels,” he said. “If we find changes or elevated PSA levels, the patient is referred to his physician for further testing to acquire the information needed to determine what further action may be needed.”
No appointment is needed for the free screenings, which will be offered Mon., Sept. 17, Tues., Sept. 18, Wed., Sept. 19, and Thurs., Sept. 20 from 8 am to 11 am and 1 pm to 4pm. The Anschutz Cancer Pavilion is located at 1665 North Ursula in Aurora, Colo. Call 720-848-9999 for more information.
The University of Colorado Cancer Center is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in the Rocky Mountain Region. Headquartered primarily at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, its four-part mission is excellence in cancer research, treatment, prevention and education. For more information, visit the Web site at http://www.uccc.info.
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