A free prostate cancer screening will be held on Saturday, Sept. 20, from 8 a.m-noon at Maine Medical Center’s Scarborough facility, 84 Campus Drive.

A limited number of appointments are available for the free screening, so pre-registration is required. To register, call 885-7697.

The free screening is part of a public awareness campaign this month to encourage early detection of the disease. According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 1,460 Maine men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year and 170 will die of the disease. Prostate cancer is an uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate gland that may spread to other parts of the body. It is the most common cancer found in men and strikes one in six American men.

The Maine Coalition to Fight Prostate Cancer recommends an annual screening for men 35 and older if they fall into one of the high-risk categories, including men who have a family history of the disease; African-Americans or men who eat a diet high in fat. All men over 40 should be checked yearly.

For more information about prostate cancer, contact the Maine Coalition to Fight Prostate Cancer at www.mcfpc.org/contact.html.


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