Free prostate screenings will be offered today
BEEN AVOIDING A PROSTATE SCREENING, fellas? There’s no excuse now because the test is coming to you. A big purple motor home will pull into town today to offer free screenings to men. It’s part of a campaign by the National Prostate Cancer Coalition and Schiff Nutrition International to catch the disease in its early stages.
The prostate is a reproductive gland that creates an alkaline fluid that is part of semen and helps control the flow of urine. It’s wrapped around the urethra, the canal that carries semen and urine out of the body.
Men have a 17 percent chance of getting prostate cancer and a 3 percent chance of dying from it, according to the coalition. If caught in the early stages, 99 percent of men survive the disease.
Men whose relatives have had the disease, African Americans and veterans exposed to Agent Orange are at greater risk.
So far, the campaign has caught more than 800 cases of prostate cancer and at a higher rate than conventional doctors’ offices, said Jamie Bearse, spokesman for the coalition. A typical practice will find the disease or indications of it in 4 percent of its patients, but in the motor home, 7 to 8 percent of men show signs of prostate cancer, he said.
Bearse attributes that to the convenience of first-come, first-served testing. The motor home is equipped with snacks and televisions airing sporting events, and the whole procedure takes about 10 minutes, he said.
“There’s all sorts of stuff to break down the barrier that men have that any excuse is a good excuse to not take care of their health,” Bearse said. “It’s the way every doctor’s office should be.”
Plus, the screening is free. The coalition hired local doctors to conduct the physical exams and draw blood for what’s called a Prostate Specific Antigen test. The doctor is able to give immediate feedback on the physical portion of the exam, but the blood results are mailed to the patient within about three weeks.
If prostate problems are detected in someone without health insurance, the coalition shares information on local low-cost or free treatment options, Bearse said.
This is the third year of the campaign, but the first time the motor home has come to Spokane. It will be traveling to Spokane from Boise and will head to the Seattle area later this week.
Washington state ranks 47th in the nation for prostate cancer screenings, according to the coalition. It’s one of the few states that doesn’t mandate insurance companies to cover the tests, Bearse said.
The Spokane screenings will be held today from noon to 7 p.m. in the Fred Meyer parking lot at 525 E. Francis Ave. and Wednesday during the same hours in the Fred Meyer parking lot at 400 S. Thor St.
More families eligible for WIC
More Americans may qualify for Women, Infants and Children, the national program that provides milk, eggs and other staples to income-eligible families.
The food vouchers, as well as nutritional counseling, health screenings and other services, are given to qualifying pregnant and breastfeeding women and children under age 5.
Both Washington and Idaho recently set new income guidelines for WIC. An applicant’s gross income must fall at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty line. For example, a two-person household – which could include a pregnant woman and her fetus – must earn $1,978 or less a month to qualify. A four-person household must make less than $2,984 a month.
For more information in the Spokane area, call 324-1620. In Idaho, call 211 or (800) 926-2588.
Beware of bites
Summer is lovely, but it’s also the season of higher risk – of drownings, of mosquito-borne illnesses and of food-related sickness from hot-weather picnics and barbecues.
Summer is also the time when more animal bites occur. Nationally, dogs, cats, rodents and other animals cause 4.5 million bites each year, according to Epigram, a communicable disease report by the Spokane Regional Health District. Bites increase between April and September, with a peak in July.
While most adults are bit on the arm or hand, almost two-thirds of injuries among children younger than 4 years are to the head or neck.
Dog bites tend to damage bones, blood vessels, tendons, muscles and nerves because their strong jaws and rounded teeth cause crushing injuries, the report said. Cat teeth, meanwhile, puncture the skin, injecting pathogens into deep, narrow wounds that are difficult to clean thoroughly.
Bite victims should get a tetanus shot within 48 hours of the incident if their last one was given more than five years ago.
People bitten by nonimmunized pets and wild animals should see a doctor immediately to check for rabies, a disease so rare it has only been detected in humans twice in Washington since 1939, the report said.
Don’t drink and dive
Speaking of summertime risk, the Washington state Department of Social and Health Services reminds water lovers that lakes and liquor don’t mix.
“(Alcohol) causes a loss of inhibitions, which leads to aggressiveness, poor judgment and reckless movements in the water while boating, swimming or diving,” said Ken Stark, director of the DSHS Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse, in a written release.
Some statistics to keep in mind next time you pack the cooler for a weekend on the water:
“Drinking may be a factor in 80 percent of boating fatalities, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
“Alcohol is involved in an estimated 38 percent of drowning deaths, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.