Smyrna  –  Prostate cancer is the most common cancer, other than skin cancers, in American men. About 1 man in 6 will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime, but only 1 man in 35 will die of it. More than 2 million men in the United States who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point are still alive today.

Free prostate specific antigen (PSA) screenings, such as the one being offered by StoneCrest Medical Center on Sept. 29, offer early diagnosis and treatment. This test measures the levels of PSA in your blood. PSA is a chemical produced in the prostate gland and released into the bloodstream. Prostate cancer, with its rapidly dividing prostate cells, tends to considerably ‘increase PSA levels.

According to Dr. Mark Dickinson, urologist at StoneCrest Medical Center “Screening for PSA is done via a simple blood test. The Food and Drug Administration approves the PSA test, combined with a digital rectal exam, to diagnose prostate cancer. When these two tests are used together, prostate cancer can be detected even in men who have no symptoms of cancer.”

PSA-based screening is likely to be most beneficial for men between the ages of 40-75.  More than 65% of all prostate cancers are diagnosed in men over the age of 65.

Since the 1990s when screening for prostate cancer began, many more cases of prostate cancer have been diagnosed and the death rate from prostate cancer has decreased.

The American Cancer Society recommends that both the PSA and DRE should be offered annually, beginning at age 50, to men who have at least a 10-year life expectancy. Men at high risk, such as African American men and men with a strong family history of one or more first-degree relatives diagnosed at an early age, should begin testing at age 45. However, all men over 40 should speak with their doctors at the time of their annual physicals and develop a proactive prostate health plan that is right for them based on their lifestyles and family history.

 African American men are 61% more likely to develop prostate cancer compared with Caucasian men and are nearly 2.5 times as likely to die from the disease. Men with a single first-degree relative—father, brother or son—with a history of prostate cancer are twice as likely to develop the disease, while those with two or more relatives are nearly four times as likely to be diagnosed. The risk is even higher if the affected family members were diagnosed at a young age, with the highest risk seen in men whose family members were diagnosed before age 60.

The free PSA screening begins at 4pm on September 29th at the StoneCrest Medical Office Building. While the screening is free, advance reservations are required by calling TriStar MedLine^SM at 615-342-1919. Funding for the cancer screening is provided through a grant from the Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation.

StoneCrest Medical Center, part of the TriStar Health System, is an Accredited Chest Pain and Accredited Cancer Center that offers a full array of acute care services including emergency care, general surgery, cardiology, obstetrics, intensive care, physical medicine, outpatient diagnostic services, and cancer care. Situated on 43 acres at the intersection of Interstate 24 and Sam Ridley Parkway, StoneCrest Medical Center offers 101 total beds. Additionally, the 160,000 square foot physician's building is adjacent to the medical center, providing convenient access from physician offices to the hospital.  

The Sarah Cannon Cancer Center Network—accredited by The Cancer Commission of the American College of Surgeons with commendations for providing superior cancer care—is second to none in the Southeast for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. With eight affiliated medical facilities, The Sarah Cannon Cancer Center Network has grown to become the largest community-based, privately-funded diagnostic and treatment center in the country. Through its investment in advanced technologies and a network of hundreds of cancer experts and researchers, more patients are benefiting from life-saving cancer diagnosis, treatment and access to clinical trials. For more information about The Sarah Cannon Cancer Center, call TriStar MedLineSM at 615-342-1919 or 800-242-5662 or visit SarahCannon.com.

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