Northside Hospital Prostate Cancer Screening

Northside Hospital Offers Free Prostate Cancer Screening for Men in Forsyth County

It’s estimated that more than 6,000 men in Georgia, nearly 100 in Forsyth County, will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI).  It remains the most frequently diagnosed cancer in men, aside from skin cancer.  To help raise awareness of the disease, Northside Hospital’s Cancer Institute, in collaboration with Georgia Highland Medical Services, is offering a free prostate cancer screening in Forsyth County in March.

Thursday, March 8, 2012
6-8 p.m.
Georgia HighlandMedical Services
260 Elm StreetCumming
To register, call 404-845-5555 and press “0.”
Qualified Spanish interpreters available on site.
Register early!  Spaces fill quickly.

Health care professionals will screen adult men for symptoms of prostate cancer and offer free PSA (protein specific antigen) blood tests and digital rectal exams at no charge.  Uninsured men, age 40-75, who have never been diagnosed with prostate cancer and haven’t had a prostate exam within the past year, are eligible to participate.  A limited number of appointments are available for men with insurance.  A nurse navigator is available to help arrange follow up care, if indicated.

As the state’s leader in the fight against prostate cancer, diagnosing and treating more cases of the disease than any other community hospital in Georgia, Northside agrees with guidelines set by the American Urological Association – that the PSA test can provide important information in the diagnosis, pre-treatment staging or risk assessment and monitoring of prostate cancer patients.  However,  in 2011, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF), the same group that earlier released controversial recommendations for mammograms, released recommendations discouraging the use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening for prostate cancer, asserting that there is “moderate or high certainty that the service has no net benefit or that the harms outweigh the benefits.”  Men are encouraged to talk with their health care provider to determine if screening for prostate cancer is appropriate for them.

An NCI Community Cancer Centers Program (NCCCP), Northside leads the way in groundbreaking procedures for better outcomes and less invasive treatments for prostate cancer, offering a wide range of options – from the minimally invasive to the latest advances in surgery.  Men should discuss the benefits and limitations of screening, beginning at age 50 if they are at average risk for the disease, and, beginning at age 45 if they are at high risk.  Men at high risk include African-American men and men with a first-degree relative (father, brother, son), diagnosed at an early age (younger than age 65).  Men, who have several first-degree relatives who had prostate cancer at an early age, should discuss the pros and cons of early screening with their physician, beginning at age 40.

The prostate cancer screening is free to participate, but registration is required.  Call 404-845-5555 and press “0” to schedule an appointment.

To learn more about prostate cancer and latest treatment options, visit www.northside.com.