“Don’t worry guys, it’s a blood test, not a glove test.”
Ponoka men over 40 will be able to take a free Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test through a mobile testing unit called the Man Van.
The event is hosted by the Ponoka Elks and is set for Saturday, March 7 at the Elks Hall. Nurses with the Prostate Cancer Centre will use the mobile unit to do a simple blood test, called a PSA test, to check if levels warrant further testing, explained Linda MacNaughton, director of the Man Van program for the centre.
The PSA test checks for a specific protein produced by the prostate that can be found in the blood; if levels are above normal, the centre then refers patients to a doctor for further testing.
MacNaughton says more than 18,500 men have been tested since the program started in 2009 and a number were found to have prostate cancer. If testing is done early enough, it is quite treatable.
These PSA tests should be done in conjunction with a family doctor, who will conduct a prostate exam as well, but MacNaughton says many men don’t even have a doctor.
She says men are advised to get appointments at 40, 45 and 50 years of age. After that she says they should get checked once a year. MacNaughton says it is not something people like to think about, but a PSA test takes about 10 minutes and “it could save your life.”
The hope for Elks is to help raise awareness of prostate cancer and to get men checked, explained member Jim Klinger.
Like any blood test, the only issue a patient may have is some slight bruising to the arm.