HOSPITALS OFFER PROSTATE TESTS

Cape Girardeau's two hospitals will be among 1,000 sites nationwide to offer men a free prostate cancer screening during Prostate Cancer Awareness Week Sept. 20-26.

This is the fourth consecutive year that St. Francis Medical Center and Southeast Missouri Hospital have participated in the screening; last year approximately 500,000 men were screened in 1,800 centers.

The program to help men find out if they may have the second-most-fatal form of cancer will be held in Cape Girardeau on Sept. 25 from 8 a.m. until noon. Screening site is in the Regional Cancer Center at Southeast Missouri Hospital.

Although the screening is free, appointments are necessary. To make an appointment, call 651-5550. The screening is available to all men over 50 as well as those over 40 with a family history of prostate cancer.

Dr. Paul D. Thompson, a Cape Girardeau urologist who will serve as medical adviser for the local screening program, said prostate cancer will be diagnosed this year in 165,000 men. About 35,000 men will die from the disease this year.

"In most cases, prostate cancer can be treated successfully when it is diagnosed early, before the tumor has escaped the prostate gland and moved into other organs," Thompson said.