Free Prostate Cancer Screening Offered

BRIDGEPORT — Free prostate cancer screenings will be offered by St Vincent’s SWIM Prostate Cancer Institute on Monday, September 24, from 5:30 to 6:30 pm, at St Vincent’s Family Health Center, 762 Lindley Street. Call 203-576-6158 for appointment.

The free program is open to all men age 50 and over and to those age 40 and over whom are at higher risk for prostate cancer due to family history or being of African American decent. Screenings are for uninsured men with limited access to a primary care doctor.

This does not include men currently seeing a urologist or who have been screened within the past year. St Vincent’s offers the free screenings in an effort to detect cancer in its earliest, most treatable stage.

The screening program is made possible through funding from St Vincent’s SWIM Across the Sound, a charitable organization run by St Vincent’s Medical Center Foundation.

Each screening will include a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) blood test and a digital rectal exam performed by urologists on active staff at St Vincent’s. Symptoms of prostate cancer may include weak or interrupted flow of urine, inability to urinate, frequent urination, burning, bloody urine, or pain in the lower back, pelvis, or upper thighs.

Cancer of the prostate is the most common type of cancer among American men and the second leading cause of cancer deaths among this group. It is estimated that one out of every ten American men will develop prostate cancer before age 85 with 300,000 deaths annually attributed to it.

To schedule an appointment or for more information, call St Vincent’s SWIM Prostate Cancer Institute at 203-576-6158. Appointments are limited.