Beulah Baptist hosting prostate cancer screening event Saturday

Prostate cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in men. 

But Dr. John Duffy with the Tuscaloosa Urology Center said screening is simple and takes only a few seconds. 

Men ages 40 through 75 should be getting screened on a regular basis, Duffy said, because early detection and advances in treatment are saving lives.

And finding prostate cancer when it is still at an early stage offers the best hope for living cancer-free for a long time. 

“Prostate cancer is actually a very curable cancer if caught early,” Duffy said. “It can have survival rates greater than 90%. It is, however, the second leading cause of cancer death in men despite being so curable. It can still take a lot of men’s lives and that is why it is so crucial to be screened.”

One in eight American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime. 

And Jerry D. Taylor Sr. is one of those men. That’s why he’s stressing the importance of these screenings, which he credits with saving his life 12 years ago.

“It is so important definitely to African Americans and they should come, and they should have a desire (to get tested),” Taylor said. “Not that they don’t, but they are afraid for whatever reason to come get themselves checked. As our pastor says, God is concerned about the whole man. So, we need to be aware of our bodies, listen to our bodies and try to react to our bodies and not ignore our bodies because it is so important to do that.” 

Taylor’s cancer was treated with robotics surgery by Duffy. 

To facilitate more men getting screened, Beulah Baptist Church is hosting a free prostate screening event Saturday, Sept. 24, from 9 a.m. to noon.