By Duke Medicine News and Communications

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in American men. It is more common than any other major cancer – every three minutes an American man finds out he has prostate cancer. Nearly 30,000 men will die from it every year... unless you do something to make a difference.

The best way to beat prostate cancer is by detecting it in its earliest stage, and the only way to detect it early is through screening. If you are a man over the age of 50, you should be screened for prostate cancer. Men with a family history of prostate cancer are at higher risk, as are African-American men, who are at twice the risk of other men. Both groups should be screened starting at age 40.

This year, Prostate Cancer Awareness Week (PCAW), a national program of the Prostate Cancer Education Council, will be held September 18–24. PCAW is one of the oldest and most successful cancer screening programs in history. It is a program involving hundreds of screening sites nationwide that offer free or low-cost screenings, in addition to producing valuable information on research issues key to eliminating this threat.

Lincoln Community Health Center/Duke Medical Center will be conducting free prostate cancer screenings on September 17 from 8:00 a.m.-12 p.m. at Lincoln Community Health Center and September 18 from 12 p.m.- 4:00 p.m. at the Duke South Morris Clinic Building. Please contact Marva Price at 919-684-3786 ext. 245 or Diane Dowdee at 919-681-6768 for more information. You may also visit www.prostateconditions.org/ for more information on prostate cancer.

Duke Medical Center/Lincoln Community Health Center has provided free community screening for 15 years. There is no registration, and it is on a first-come, first-served basis. Everyone who is at the screening locations by 12:00 p.m. on September 17 and 4:00 p.m. on September 18 will be checked.