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‘Men, be examined for prostate cancer’
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Posted on Aug 30 2005
Some 77 men in the CNMI contracted prostate cancer in 2003, according to a local cancer group adviser. Of this number, 10 have already died of the disease.
Dr. Jack Hardy, a retired surgeon and now owner and president of Saipan Photo Lab, said during yesterday’s regular meeting of the Saipan Rotary Club at the Hyatt Regency Saipan, that prostate cancer is the 3rd most common type of cancer.
In the U.S., he said, more than 230,000 prostate cancer cases are reported each year and 30,000 of them eventually die from it.
Hardy spoke at the Rotary to invite them to participate and take action in the upcoming Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in September.
He said it is important for the community to have the awareness as an individual and it is critical to learn about the cancer as early as possible. He said the disease could be cured if detected early.
He said U.S. records show that prostate cancer occurs more often among African-American and Latin American men, with a low incidence recorded among Asian men.
Hardy urged the male members of the Rotary to have their physical exams as early as possible and that adult men should talk to doctors whenever symptoms show up. He added that men should not fear a rectal exam.
“The educated finger of the doctor is the best tool,” he quipped during the meeting, to much laughter among the audience.
September will be proclaimed as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month with the theme “One Village, One Journey” on Sept. 8, at 10am, at the Saipan Mayor’s Office.
The Commonwealth Cancer Association is spearheading the monthlong observance.
Activities during the month will include distribution of flyers through the media, educational presentations, and celebrity baggers at Price Costco, among others.
