Sunday, September 12, 1999
Survivor's advice: Get prostate exam
Local hospitals offering screenings
BY TIM BONFIELD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A cancer survivor wants men to know there is nothing unmanly about getting a prostate exam.
Many Tristate hospitals will be offering either free or low-cost prostate screening tests from Sept. 18-24 as part of Prostate Cancer Awareness Week.
Herschel Chalk, 53, of Roselawn, said men may be queasy about signing up, but he said those few moments of discomfort can add years and decades to many lives.
“Death (from cancer) can be defeated if we just get check-ups and detect it early,” he said.
Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death among American men, behind lung cancer. About one in 10 develop the disease. African-American men, a group that includes Mr. Chalk, have a one in nine incidence rate — the highest in the world.
Mr. Chalk was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1996 after seeing a doctor for a routine physical. His prostate was removed in January 1997 and, earlier this year, he endured seven weeks of radiation because he still had traces of cancer.
Now, Mr. Chalk considers himself a survivor.
As a volunteer for the American Cancer Society, he urges men to get screened; a process that involves a digital rectal exam and a blood test called the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test.
“The only way to get the word out is by talking. Men have to get over this phobia to not get check-ups,” Mr. Chalk said.
Doctors say all men should get prostate exams once a year starting at age 50. African-American men, plus any other men with a family history of the disease should start screening at age 40.
Prostate screenings will be available at several local hospitals. Most charge $10. Some are free:
• At Mercy Health Partners, free screenings will be offered om rotating days from Sept. 18-24 among the Mercy hospitals in Batavia, Anderson Township, Fairfield, Mount Airy and Westwood. For an appointment, call 451-6100 or 956-3729.
• In Northern Kentucky, St. Luke Hospitals, St. Elizabeth Medical Center, the Northern Kentucky Health Center, the American Cancer Society and Northern Kentucky urologists and radiation oncologists are offering $10 screenings Sept. 20-23.
For information, call Northern Kentucky Family Health Centers, 655-8040; St. Elizabeth Medical Center-South unit, 344-5550; St. Elizabeth Medical Center-Grant County, 824-2404; St. Luke Hospitals-East or West, 572-3791.
• The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati also will be offering $10 screenings Sept. 21 and 22 at University Hospital, Jewish Hospital-Evendale and Christ Hospital. For appointments, call 584-5433.
Enquirer reporter Susan Vela contributed to this report.
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