Free prostate screenings offered

Prostate Cancer Awareness Week was formed to raise awareness about the disease.  To promote screenings in the Tri-State area, The James E. Cary Cancer Center in Hannibal will be offering free prostate screenings from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sept. 15 and 17 inside the James E. Cary Cancer Center. For more information on these screenings or to make an appointment, please call the Cancer Center at (573) 406-5800 or register online at Carycancercenter.org.   
The prostate cancer screenings done during these sessions will include a Digital Rectal Exam (DRE) and a blood test in order to assess Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) levels circulating in the blood.  These two tests are the most effective way to identify prostate cancer in patients all over the country. 
Dr. Steven Cockrell, Urologist with the Hannibal Clinic, says most men who have prostate cancer may not even know it. 
“Prostate cancer really has no symptoms in its early stages of development,” said Dr. Cockrell.  “Regular screenings are really a patient’s only way of detecting it early.”
Dr. Cockrell says there are some symptoms, which should raise a red flag for any man.  These symptoms, which may also appear with benign enlargement of the prostate, may be experienced as prostate cancer progresses.
• Difficulty starting urination
• A need to urinate frequently, especially at night
• Inability to urinate
• Weak or interrupted flow of urine (dribbling)
• Painful or burning urination
• Painful ejaculation
• Blood in urine or semen
• Frequent pain or stiffness in the back, hips, or upper thighs
Men experiencing any of these symptoms should be screened for prostate cancer immediately. 
Since all men are at risk for prostate cancer, physicians suggest all men over the age of 50 be screened every year for the disease.  Physicians also recommend that all men who are at a higher risk for prostate cancer like African American men and men who have a family history of prostate cancer be screened annually, beginning at age 40.