On Thursday, Sept. 1, the Arkansas Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Judd Hill Foundation will provide free prostate cancer screening in the Foundation’s mobile education and screening unit from 9 a.m. until noon at the Judd Hill Cotton Technology Field Day five miles south of Trumann on Arkansas 214.

This free screening is open to men who have not been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Participants must be at least 45 years of age. African-Americans or those who have a family history of prostate cancer can be screened at age 40 and up. This free screening includes BOTH a PSA blood test and a digital rectal exam. Individuals must agree to both of these tests in order to participate in this free screening.

According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer will affect 198,100 men during the year, about two new diagnoses every five minutes. More than 31,100 men lose lives to prostate cancer during 2003, a death about every 15 minutes. In Arkansas, 2,150 men are expected to be diagnosed and 280 to die from prostate cancer this year.

One in six men, sometime in his lifetime, will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and families are likely to suffer that diagnosis more than once, since there is a demonstrated hereditary factor with this disease. It is the most commonly diagnosed non-skin cancer in America. And as a cancer killer of men, it is second only to lung cancer.

The free screening is provided as part of the Foundation’s Education and Screening Program in Arkansas. According to Jim East, former chairman of the Arkansas Prostate Cancer board of directors and a prostate cancer survivor, “being aware of these signs, as well as knowing your PSA score, and the treatment available is crucial to fighting this disease. One reason so many die from prostate cancer is that there may be no symptoms at all, or they may be very minor and easily ignored. This mistake could cost a man his life. However, if the disease is caught in time, it can be treated.”

Every man in America should be aware of this threat and take steps to know if he has prostate cancer. In its early stages, it generally shows no symptoms. If found due to complaints about urinary difficulties, prostate cancer is all too often beyond curative treatment.

The Arkansas Prostate Cancer Foundation is working with hospitals, legislators, urologists, and family physicians around the state to promote awareness about prostate cancer. The Foundation’s website, http://www.arprostatecancer.org regularly adds to its list of free prostate cancer screenings offered through the RV or local hospitals around the state. With the help of Northpoint Automotive, and local physicians and nurses across the state, the Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, is committed to providing this service to men who do not have insurance or a regular physician to provide exams.

The Arkansas State University Museum has completed a new permanent exhibition on the Civil War. is welcome. For more information call the museum at (870) 972-2074.