Prostate cancer screenings to be held in Yuma
Men ages 40 and older will have a chance to get prostate cancer screenings in Yuma Jan. 18-19.
The Prostate On-site Project (POP), a mobile medical screening unit that travels throughout Arizona offering affordable exams for the early detection of prostate cancer, will hold screenings at the City Hall overflow parking lot on the southeast corner of the Giss Parkway traffic circle, off South Madison Avenue.
POP is taking appointments for Jan. 18 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and for Jan. 19 from 8 a.m. to noon. For an appointment, call 1-480-964-3013 or 1-800-828-6139
Due to limited space, event organizers are asking interested men sign up early.
Screening includes the PSA blood test, digital rectal exam, testicular exam and a doctor consultation by a board-certified urologist.
POP is a nonprofit organization founded by prostate cancer survivor and former NFL player Gene Felker.
According to POP, men age 40 years and older, or 35 for men with a family history of prostate cancer, and African-American men should have a digital rectal exam and prostate specific antigen blood test annually.
“Prostate cancer can strike any man,” Felker said, noting that one in five men will get prostate cancer during his lifetime. With early detection, survival is nearly 100 percent, he added.
According to cancer experts, after skin cancer, prostate cancer is the leading form of cancer in men and the second cause of cancer death after lung cancer.
The five-year survival rate for patients whose cancer is caught while still confined in the prostate is nearly 100 percent, while the five-year survival rate for those men diagnosed with advanced cancer is 34 percent.
POP will accept insurance, including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Health Net, Humana and UnitedHealthcare. Specialist co-pay fees will apply; bring an insurance card to the appointment.
With no insurance, the cost is $72, payable at the appointment.
For more information, visit www.prostatecheckup.org.
Mara Knaub can be reached at mknaub@yumasun.com or 539-6856. Find her on Facebook at Facebook.com/YSMaraKnaub or on Twitter at @YSMaraKnaub.
