Free prostate screening available in Linden Nov. 23

LINDEN – Free prostate cancer screening is being offered by the Marengo County Health Department Saturday, November 23, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Health Department in Linden.

Jackie Holliday, director, said the screening clinic is sponsored in conjunction with the Urology Health Foundation of Birmingham. He encouraged all men, especially those aged 40 and above, to take advantage of the screening.

He also said that African-American men should attend the clinic because they have a higher incidence of prostate cancer in Alabama.

Holliday said the foundation is bringing in physicians to conduct the exams and phlebotomists who will work with the Health Department nurses to do the blood work.

While it’s somewhat a discomfort to have the physical exam, it is an important part of the process for being checked for prostate cancer, Holliday said.

The registration process is simple and includes basic questions of past health and contact information.

“We usually have the ball game playing on the TV,” he joked.

One in six men gets prostate cancer, Holliday said. Last year the clinic screened more than 160 men.