Published: September 06, 2008 11:20 pm      

Free prostate exams Tuesday at Pattie A. Clay

In observance of September as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, Pattie A. Clay Regional Medical Center will offer free examinations Tuesday evening.

The examinations include a blood test as well as a digital examination by a urologist, said medical center spokes person Jo Helen Cloys.

To schedule an appointment, call 625-3446.

“Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers, but its also among the most treatable,” Cloys said.

In addition to detecting prostate cancer, the examinations also can detect other diseases of the prostate gland.

Test results will be mailed to participants.

In addition to the examinations, information about prostate cancer and its risk factors will be made available.

“The best treatment begins with knowledge,” Cloys said, “and this event is a good way for men to determine if they are at risk for prostate cancer.”

More than 189,000 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2004 with about 29,000 succumbing that year, according to The Centers for Disease Control.

In Kentucky, about 129 to 148 of every 100,000 men will develop prostate cancer each year, CDC statistics show, with 22 to 30 dying from the disease.

There is no scientific consensus on strategies to reduce prostate cancer risks, but diet can be a risk factor, according Jennifer Reilly, a nutritionist with The Cancer Project in Washington, D.C.

“Research clearly shows that some foods increase men’s vulnerability to prostate cancer,” she said. “As consumption of dairy products or overall calcium intake increases, so does a man’s risk. High-fat, meat-heavy diets also are associated with increased prostate cancer risk.”

Studies also suggest that men who consume an abundance of whole tomatoes and tomato sauce, as well as watermelon and pink grapefruit, which are all rich in cancer-fighting lycopene, dramatically cut prostate cancer risk, she said.



Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 623-1669, Ext. 267.