Columbiana County agency to offer free blood tests for prostate cancer

LISBON -- June is prostate cancer awareness month, and men 50 or older can receive free PSA tests, the cancer-screening blood test used to detect prostate cancer, at the Columbiana County Health Department.
Health Commissioner Robert Morehead said men who want the free screening must schedule an appointment at the health department for June 11 or June 18 by calling (330) 424-0272 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Some provisions will be made to accommodate appointments for men who work during the day, he said.
Morehead said the free service is available to all county residents because county voters renewed the levy for the health department's cancer detection clinic in 2000.
Morehead said prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in men, accounting for 30 percent of all cancers in men and 13 percent of cancer-related male deaths.
He said nationwide about 189,00 new cases of prostate cancer will be reported this year, and about 30,200 will die from this disease. In Ohio, about 8,100 men will be diagnosed, and of those, about 1,300 will die, he said.
Morehead said men should have a PSA test and digital rectal exam annually beginning at age 50. Men in high-risk groups, including black men and men whose father, brothers or sons have had prostate cancer diagnosed at a young age, should begin annual testing at age 45.