Texas County Memorial Hospital and Dr. Anthony Kaczmarek, consulting urologist at the hospital, are participating in National Prostate Cancer Awareness Week by offering a prostate cancer screening from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, at the medical complex in Houston.
According to The Prostate Cancer Foundation, prostate cancer is the most common form of non-skin cancer among men. In 2009, more than 192,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. More than 27,000 men will die from the disease.
Because approximately 90 percent of all prostate cancers are detected in the early stages, the cure rate for prostate cancer is very high – nearly 100 percent of men diagnosed at this stage will be disease-free after five years.
Physicians say the best way to beat prostate cancer is by detecting it at its earliest – and most treatable – stage. Physicians recommend that men over the age of 45 should receive annual prostate screening. African American or Hispanic men or those with a family history of the disease should receive annual prostate screening every year at age 35.
Prostate cancer can often be found early by testing the amount of PSA (prostate-specific antigen) in your blood. Another way prostate cancer is found early is when the doctor does a digital rectal exam (DRE).
The TCMH prostate screening, offered by appointment only, includes a PSA lab and DRE by Kaczmarek. A $10 fee covers the materials cost for the screening. The screening only takes about 10 minutes.
To make an appointment for the screening or for additional information, contact Libby Waterson, TCMH education director, at 417-967-1340.