Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Urology Health Foundation held a free prostate cancer screening for men 40 years and older on Saturday at the Pike County Health Department.

Sherry Wilson, physician liaison, said Saturday was a good day in Pike County with 103 men screened.

Wilson said Dr. Michael Bivins, formerly of Brundidge, was there to help with the screenings and his mother, Constance Bivins helped distribute the flyers.

Dr. Thomas Moody, president of the Urology Health Foundation, said prostate cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in American men.

“Age and race are the strongest risk factors for prostate cancer. African-American men are at special risk for the disease with the highest death rate for prostate cancer of any racial or ethnic group in the United States,” Moody said.

A man’s risk of prostate cancer also increases if he has a close relative with the disease. It is now more important than ever for those at highest risk of developing prostate cancer to be screened if they have delayed being screened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Moody said, stressing that regular screening offers the best way to maximize a man’s chances of discovering the cancer while it is still in its early, and most curable, stages.

Men at risk of prostate cancer are encouraged to consult with their personal physicians about screenings.