Free Prostate Screenings, Mammograms Offered By St V’s

BRIDGEPORT — A free prostate cancer screenings will be offered by St Vincent’s SWIM Prostate Cancer Institute on Tuesday, January 17, at the Family Health Center, 762 Lindley Street, from 5:30 to 6:30 pm.

The free program is open by appointment 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.

Men currently seeing a urologist or who have been screened within the past year are not eligible.

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.

In related news, one of the largest no-cost and low-cost mammography screening campaigns in all of Fairfield County is made possible through St Vincent’s SWIM Across the Sound. The SWIM Women’s Imaging Center will offer the following free and low-cost digital mammography screening for women age 35 and older during the month of January:

*Wednesday, January 18, from 9 am to 1 pm, Bridgeport City Hall, 45 Lyon Terrace, Bridgeport

*Wednesday, January 25, from 11 am to 3 pm, Spring Meadows, 6949 Main Street, Trumbull

The latest American Cancer Society guidelines recommend that all women have a mammogram by age 40, and then every year thereafter.

Mammograms are free for those who do not have health insurance, have financial limitations and qualify for assistance. For those who do not have insurance but do not qualify for free services, mammograms are discounted. Appointments are necessary and a physician order and insurance card must be brought to the appointment.

To schedule an appointment or to find out when the mobile mammography unit will be in your area, call St Vincent’s SWIM Women’s Imaging Center at 203-576-5500. Or, to schedule a screening site at an office, community center, school, or church, call the mobile mammography coordinator at 203-576-5505.