New York Daily News Celebrates Father’s Day with PSA Screening
It seems only fitting: celebrate Father’s Day with an event that has helped 165,000 men in the past decade.
New York’s Hometown Newspaper is sponsoring the largest prostate cancer screening program in the country, which kicked off on Sunday, Father’s Day. Over the past ten years, more than 165,000 men over the age of 40 have received free tests, through partnerships with hospitals and clinics.
The Daily News’ program will go on through June 24, with free PSA blood tests available at 48 locations in New York and New Jersey. A contribution of $25,000 from the Starr Foundation will be used to defray some of the hospital costs due to the program.
The necessity of undergoing PSA screenings, however, has been brought into question. Some say that the risks and potential side effects that the testing and consequent treatment may bring do not outweigh the benefits that may be derived from the test, which is used for the diagnosis of prostate cancer, the second most common cancer among men.
John Campi, vice president for promotion and community affairs at the Daily News, shared: “It’s still the most conclusive test you can get… As New York’s hometown paper, we take on that responsibility to help protect the quality of life in our great city… we know we have saved lives.”
Among those who have benefitted from the Daily News program is Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, who attended the first set of PSA screenings sponsored by The News in 2000. In 2010, his PSA levels saw a dramatic rise, and he underwent surgery last Easter. Sliwa shared: “My doctor told me if I didn’t have the PSA test, I would have been dead, but, because I had a regime of testing, we caught it.”
Tags: free postate cancer tests, free PSA screening, free PSA test, prostate cancer testing, PSA tests
