High Turn-Out for Cancer Screening Expresses Community Interest in Prevention

Surpassing the expected participation, 26 men made an appointment for the free prostate cancer screening last week at Sierra View Medical Center’s Roger S. Good Cancer Treatment Center. After a recent screening recommendation from the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF or Task Force), Sierra View Medical Center and the Cancer Center team is now taking the opportunity to begin promoting prostate cancer screenings.

Several men were under the impression there is only one type of screening or exam to check for signs for prostate cancer, but they were surprised to learn a simple blood test is all that’s needed to examine levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA), a protein released by the prostate. Last week, Sierra View nursing students took a small blood sample for analysis. The results are given to each patient within two weeks that will indicate either normal results that don’t require any additional action or abnormal findings that may request further exams or a biopsy.

“The most critical step in any type of cancer prevention is taking proactive action for early detection and we’re happy to have ended the month with ramping up our free annual screening again,” Crystal Davis, Cancer Center Director said. “Statistics are revealing that late stage cases are increasing, which prompted a recent PSA test recommendation and gives us a green light to encourage the targeted population that is more at risk.”

After reviewing evidence on PSA-based screenings, the Task Force published its final recommendation - men ages 55 to 69 are to make an individual decision about prostate cancer screening with their clinician. With information from the Task Force and further research, Sierra View Medical Center’s Roger S. Good Cancer Treatment Center doctors also encourage men with an increased risk to take action in prevention and inform patients with a family history of prostate cancer about their increased risk of developing the disease.

This may have been an annual free event, but the team at Roger S. Good Cancer Treatment Center encourages men with an increased risk of prostate cancer to take advantage of an easy PSA screening annually. This will reduce the chances of finding out they do have this particular type of cancer in the later stages.