Sept. 5, 2000

VCU's MCV Hospitals to offer free prostate cancer screenings

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By Erin Lucero
Office of Development, School of Medicine

RICHMOND, Va. – Men ages 40 and over are encouraged to attend a free prostate cancer screening from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. on Sept. 29 at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Medical College of Virginia Hospitals. The screenings will be held in room 320 of the Nelson Clinic, located at 401 N. 11th St.

The free screening includes a digital-rectal exam and a blood test to measure the level of prostate specific antigen (P.S.A.), a protein produced by prostate cells. These procedures allow doctors to detect many prostate cancers before symptoms develop.

After skin cancer, prostate cancer is the second most common form of cancer among men in the United States. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in American men, exceeded only by lung cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates that this year 180,400 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed, and about 32,000 men in this country will die of it.

VCU’s Division of Surgical Urology is offering the screenings in recognition of National Prostate Cancer Awareness Week, which runs from Sept. 18-22.

The screenings should take about 45 minutes. Pre-registration is not required. For more information, call VCU’s Division of Surgical Urology at (804) 828-9331.