Minority Men More Likely to Get Prostate Cancer

Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, St Elizabeth Hospital offer free prostate cancer screening

  The month of September, National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, should be an annual reminder of the startling prostate cancer statistics that exist in our state. In research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Louisiana ranked first in the nation per 100,000 men for prostate cancer incidence. These rates were 70 percent higher in African-American men than white men, and death rates were twice as high. Due to these findings, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center and St. Elizabeth Hospital are partnering to offer a free prostate cancer screening during September to help detect cancer earlier, giving more minority men a chance at beating the disease. Prostate screenings are for men age 50 and older who do not have a doctor or have not been screened in the past 12 months. Those at higher risk such as African-American men and men with a family history of prostate cancer should consider being screened beginning at age 45. The prostate cancer screening is performed by a doctor and includes a PSA blood test and physical exam. The American Cancer Society recommends discussing prostate screening with a doctor to determine if it is right for you. Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center offers free prostate screenings in Ascension Parish throughout the year. The following screening in September is brought to you by Mary Bird Perkins and St. Elizabeth Hospital: Thursday, September 12 St. Elizabeth Community Clinic 1024 SE Ascension Complex Gonzales, LA 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Appointment not required For more information, please call (225) 215-1234 or at toll-free (888) 616-4687.     About Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center is a regional cancer care organization that has been fighting cancer for more than 40 years. With centers in Baton Rouge, Covington, Hammond, Houma and Gonzales, its service area encompasses 18 parishes across southeast Louisiana.  For more information, please visit www.marybird.org.   About St. Elizabeth Hospital Sponsorship by the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System (FMOLHS) has provided the means to expand and upgrade St. Elizabeth Hospital to meet the needs of the growing area it serves.  A 78-bed community hospital with 500+ team members and 100 physicians on staff, St. Elizabeth is one of four FMOLHS hospitals, including Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe and Our Lady of Lourdes in Lafayette.