Northside Hospital Offers Free Prostate Cancer Screening for Men in Forsyth County

--By Staff Writer on --

It’s estimated that nearly 6,500 men in Georgia will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI).  It remains the most frequently diagnosed cancer in men, aside from skin cancer.  To help raise awareness of the disease, Northside Hospital’s Cancer Institute is offering a free prostate cancer screening in Forsyth County in October.

Wednesday, October 11, 2012 6-8 p.m.
Northside Hospital-Forsyth Cancer Center
1100 Northside Forsyth Drive, Suite 140, Cumming
To register, call 404-845-5555 and press “0.”

Registration is required.

Register early!  Spaces fill quickly.

Qualified Spanish interpreters available on site.

Health care professionals will screen adult men for symptoms of prostate cancer and offer free PSA (protein specific antigen) blood tests and digital rectal exams at no charge.  Uninsured men, ages 40-75, who have never been diagnosed with prostate cancer and haven’t had a prostate exam within the past year, are eligible to participate.  A limited number of appointments are available for men with insurance.  A nurse navigator is available to help arrange follow up care, if indicated.

As the state’s leader in the fight against prostate cancer, diagnosing and treating more cases of the disease than any other community hospital in Georgia, Northside agrees with guidelines set by the American Urological Association – that the PSA test can provide important information in the diagnosis, pre-treatment staging or risk assessment and monitoring of prostate cancer patients.  However, in 2011, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) released recommendations discouraging the use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening for prostate cancer, asserting that there is “moderate or high certainty that the service has no net benefit or that the harms outweigh the benefits.”  Men are encouraged to talk with their health care provider to determine if screening for prostate cancer is appropriate for them.

An NCI Community Cancer Centers Program (NCCCP), Northside leads the way in groundbreaking procedures for better outcomes and less invasive treatments for prostate cancer, offering a wide range of options – from the minimally invasive to the latest advances in surgery.  Men should discuss the benefits and limitations of screening with their physicians, beginning at age 50 if they are at average risk for the disease, and, beginning at age 45 if they are at high risk.  Men at high risk include African-American men and men with a first-degree relative (father, brother, son), diagnosed at an early age (younger than age 65).  Men, who have several first-degree relatives who had prostate cancer at an early age, should discuss the pros and cons of early screening with their physician, beginning at age 40.

The prostate cancer screening is free to participate, but registration is required.  Call 404-845-5555 and press “0″ to schedule an appointment.

To learn more about prostate cancer and latest treatment options, visit http://www.northside.com.

The Northside Hospital health care delivery system, a not-for-profit health care provider, has served north Metro Atlanta for more than 40 years. With more than 2,200 physicians and 7,400 employees, the hospital sees nearly 700,000 patient visits a year.  Staff provide a full range of health care services, including women’s health, cancer care, emergency care, surgery, specialty medicine and a wide array of outpatient services at many locations.  Northside Hospital offers high-quality health care at Northside Hospital-Atlanta in Sandy Springs, Northside Hospital-Cherokee in Canton and Northside Hospital-Forsyth in Cumming.