The Arkansas Prostate Cancer Foundation (APCF) will host a free prostate cancer education and screening event during the free community health fair at Watkin Chapel Missionary Church, 800 S. Juniper St. at Pine Bluff.
The health fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, March 16. The prostate session is an annual collaboration between Watkins Chapel church, Baptist Health at Little Rock and APCF, according to a news release.
“Men between the ages of 45 and 75 are encouraged to take advantage of the free, preventative health care services, which will include a discussion on risk and benefits of screening and a blood test for prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Men with a family history of prostate cancer and men that are African-American are in high-risk populations for prostate cancer,” according to the release.
Beverlyn Eckert is the APCF executive director.
“Men will want to be educated about their risk and options regarding screening and treatment,” Eckert said. “Men who have a father, brother or son diagnosed with prostate cancer have a higher risk of diagnosis themselves.”
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“It’s important to know men can decrease the risk of prostate cancer by practicing healthy lifestyle choices,” she said.
The Arkansas Central Cancer Registry says that approximately 2,000 men in Arkansas will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2018.
“Men in Arkansas die at a higher rate from prostate cancer than women die from breast cancer,” according to the release.
Eckert urges timely detection. She encourages men to establish a baseline PSA score and watch for PSA Velocity, which is the amount and rate a PSA score rises from year-to-year.
“Should a screening result in a diagnosis of prostate cancer, APCF is here to help with understanding the disease and treatment, finding resources, learning what to expect and how to deal with challenges,” she said. “We have a legion of men and women who have weathered this storm, ready to help those who are newly diagnosed.”
To register for the screening event at Watkin Chapel, men may call health fair chairman James Mazique at 870-489-1614. Details: www.arprostatecancer.org or call toll-free at 1-800-338-1383.