Prostate Cancer Screenings Offered at No Cost to Participants

September is National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, and Ward 7 Councilwoman Nikki Nice and the N.E. Oklahoma City Health Task Force seek to bring attention and understanding to the importance of prostate cancer screening. The group is offering prostate cancer screenings and information at no cost to participants, Saturday, Sept. 28, in N.E. Oklahoma City.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health reports that prostate cancer is the number one cancer diagnosed in Oklahoma men. Nationally, the disease affects about 13 in 100 men around age 69. After age 69, prostate cancer becomes more common than any other cancer in men or women. The American Cancer Society estimates about 31,620 U.S. deaths from prostate cancer this year.

“About one man in nine will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime,” said Daniel Parker, M.D., a urologic oncologist at Stephenson Cancer Center at OU Health. “The incidence is highest in older men and is especially prevalent in African-American men. It is important for men to know that prostate cancer screening can reduce death rates by as much as 25 percent.”

Parker recently represented the N.E. Oklahoma City Health Task Force at an Oklahoma City Council meeting, where he stressed the importance of spreading the word on the value of prostate cancer screening. At the meeting, Mayor David Holt signed a proclamation deeming September 2019 as Prostate Cancer Screening Awareness Month in Oklahoma City.

The prostate screening event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon, Sept. 28, at the Community Health Centers of Oklahoma’s Perry Klaassen Family Medical Center, 1901 Springlake Drive (located off Martin Luther Kind Blvd., in the Metro Tech STEM Academy). In addition to screenings, volunteers will be on hand to provide information on nutrition, food distribution and health resources. Reservations for the prostate screenings can be made through the Lynn Institute, by calling (405) 447-8839.

N.E. Oklahoma City Health Task Force members include: OU Health, Lynn Institute, Metro Technology Centers, OKC-County Health Department, Mercy, SSM Health St. Anthony, Community Health Centers of Oklahoma.