Northside Hospital Cancer Care Program
Offers Free Prostate Screenings

Northside Hospital's Cancer Care Program will host free prostate cancer screenings at all three of its campuses on separate dates in September.

Northside health care professionals will screen adult men for signs of prostate cancer and free PSA (protein specific antigen) blood tests will be offered.  Men who have not had any prior treatment for prostate cancer and are not currently under treatment by a physician relating to prostate care are eligible to participate.

All men 50 years old or older are strongly encouraged to be screened.  High risk men should begin screenings when they turn 45 years old.

Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in men and is the second highest cause of cancer death in American men, second only to lung cancer.  Early detection of the cancer is reported to increase a man's five-year survival rate by 68 percent, according to the American Cancer Society.

Any one or combination of the following factors may increase a man's risk of developing prostate cancer:

• Age: Chances of getting prostate cancer increase as a man gets older. Two out of three prostate cancers are found in men over the age of 65.
• Race: Prostate cancer is more common in African-American men than in white men.  African-American men are also twice as likely to die of the disease.
• Family History: Men with relatives who have had prostate cancer have a higher risk of developing the disease.
  
  

The times, dates and locations for Northside Hospital's free prostate cancer screenings are as follows:

Tuesday Sept. 9, 2008, 6-8 p.m.
Northside Hospital-Cherokee, Outpatient Rehabilitation Services Building
211 Hospital Road, Canton

Tuesday Sept. 16, 2008, 6-8 p.m.
Northside Hospital Infusion Center
1100 Northside Forsyth Drive, Suite 140, Cumming

Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008, 6-8 p.m.
Northside Hospital Infusion Center
5670 Peachtree Dunwoody Road, Suite 1150, Atlanta

The screenings are free, but registration is required.  Please call (404) 845-5555 and press "0” to schedule an appointment.

The Northside Hospital health care delivery system is a not-for-profit health care provider that has served north Metro Atlanta for more than three decades. With more than 1,800 physicians on its medical staff, Northside cares for more than 400,000 patients a year.  Our physicians and staff provide a full range of health care services, including women's services, cancer care, emergency services, surgery, specialty medicine and a wide array of outpatient services at many locations.  Northside Hospital offers high-quality health care at Northside Hospital-Atlanta in Sandy Springs, at Northside Hospital-Cherokee in Canton and at Northside Hospital-Forsyth in Cumming.  To learn more please visit www.northside.com