HOSPITALS JOIN TO OFFER FREE CANCER SCREENING

For the third consecutive year, Cape Girardeau's two hospitals will provide a free screening program to help men find out if they may have the second most fatal form of cancer.

St. Francis Medical Center and Southeast Missouri Hospital will jointly sponsor a free one-day prostate cancer screening program on Sept. 26. The screening clinic will be available from 7:45 a.m. until noon in the St. Francis Rehabilitation Center, located on the far north end of the medical center.

Although the screening is free, appointments are encouraged. To make an appointment, call the Cancercare Center at St. Francis, 339-6830. The screening is available to all men over the age of 50 as well as those over age 40 who have a family history of prostate cancer.

The local screening program is being held in conjunction with a national Prostate Cancer Awareness campaign being observed during late September and early October.

Southeast Missouri Hospital and St. Francis Medical Center are among approximately 2,000 medical facilities nationwide which will provide prostate screenings as part of the campaign. It's expected that more than a half-million American men will participate in the free screening program.

According to American Cancer Society projections, prostate cancer in 1992 will affect more than 132,000 men and 34,000 will die from it, making it the second leading cause of male cancer deaths, second only to lung cancer.

"As the baby-boom generation approaches the age where they become increasingly susceptible to prostate cancer, these numbers are expected to rise," said Cape Girardeau urologist Paul D. Thompson, M.D., who serves as medical adviser for the local screening program. "Until we can prevent or cure prostate cancer, a man's best defense is to have regular prostate exams."

St. Francis Medical Center Oncology Program Coordinator Jo Clayton-Dodd, R.N., and Southeast Missouri Hospital's Cancer Program Coordinator Nancy Mattingly, R.N., said public awareness of prostate cancer is vital to the early detection and treatment of the disease.

"Just as women fought to overcome the stigmas associated with breast cancer in the late '70s, men now face a similar battle," Clayton-Dodd said.

Mattingly added that "as more men approach the age when they become susceptible to prostate cancer, and as public leaders and opinion-makers have sought to get the word out, prostate cancer and prostate cancer screening are becoming issues of greater concern."

Prostate cancer is primarily an age-related disease, occurring with increased frequency as men grow older. Other risk factors include died, family history and race. African-American men have the highest incidence of prostate cancer in the world, with one in nine developing the disease, versus one in 11 for the general population. Black men also tend to develop prostate cancer at an earlier age than most white men.

Two forms of screening will be available during the clinic on Sept. 26. In the standard digital rectal exam (DRE), the physician uses a gloved finger to press against the prostate and feel for hard lumps or other irregularities which could be an initial indication of prostate cancer. The exam takes about a minute. The second exam is called a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test. PSA is a relatively new blood test which measures levels of antibodies in the prostate. The sensitivity of the PSA blood test combined with the DRE procedure allows for detection of prostate cancer at an early and still treatable stage.

Dr. Thompson emphasized that the screening program is for men who are free of obvious symptoms. "This is a screening clinic," he said. "Those who believe they have a problem should be seen as soon as possible in a physician's office." Screening results will be forwarded to each patient's primary physician.

While prostate cancer often develops and spreads with no symptoms, there may be some general warning signs, including:

difficulty or inability to urinate.

frequent urination, especially at night.

weak or interrupted urine flow.

pain or burning upon urination or ejaculation.

presence of blood or pus in the urine or semen.

Persistent pain in the lower back, hips and upper thighs can also suggest prostate cancer even when other symptoms are absent, according to the Prostate Cancer Education Council, which is helping sponsor the national campaign.

Survival rates for all stages of prostate cancer have improved steadily since 1940 and have increased nearly 25 percent in the past 20 years alone. More than 80 percent of all patients whose tumors are diagnosed at an early stage are alive five years after treatment.