Mosaic offering free prostate screenings
By Kendra Simpson
Mosaic Life Care will offer free prostate cancer screenings this weekend to St. Joseph residents who want to take control over their health.
One in seven men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, even if there is no family history. However, prostate cancer is nearly 100% survivable if caught early.
“Our goal is to enhance patients lives,” Dr. Vinay Gupta said. “We want patients to undergo screenings so that they can avoid common cancers. And unfortunately, prostate cancer is quite common. And there is a lot of mortality of prostate cancer when it is diagnosed late. We are hoping that with more education, we would be able to make a difference in people’s lives.”
A PSA test, which measures the amount of prostate specific antigen in blood, can help with early detection of prostate cancer. That is why Mosaic Cancer Care will provide a free blood draw test to screen for any sign of the cancer. Mosaic recommends that all men over the age of 40 get screened for prostate cancer.
“We’re seeing more and more young people, with cancers,” Clinical Educator and Registered Nurse, Sherry Lehman, said. “If we can catch it early, then, you know, it’s a lot more treatable and a lot better outcome. We’ll put a tourniquet on your arm and clean it off and draw a blood tube. One blood tube. We have a lot of experienced people here in the cancer center that are very good phlebotomist. And so, in and out. It’ll take longer to fill out a questionnaire than it will the blood draw.”
The free screenings will be offered from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and continue 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Mosaic Cancer Care building. Mosaic will be taking registered patients as well as walk-ins. To register for a free prostate screening, visit Mosaic’s website at mymlc.com.
“We would love for 200 men to come in here and have a normal test, but if we catch just one…we’ve done our job,” Lehman said.
