Mercy Memorial Hospital System (MMHS) is conducting a free prostate cancer screening, 4 to 7 p.m., Thursday, September 19, 2013 at its Corporate Connection clinic located at 901 North Macomb Street, Suite 1, Monroe. The free screening is open to all men in the community and includes a digital exam and PSA (prostate specific antigen) blood test. No appointment is necessary.

Urologists S. R. Nair, M.D. and Ashwin Shah, M.D. are donating their services for this screening and will perform the patient examinations.

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed in men worldwide with approximately 900,000 cases reported each year. Nearly 1 in 6 American men will be affected by prostate cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, a man should begin discussing prostate health with his physician as early as age 40 and have his first screening no later than age 55. Men who have a father, brother or son who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, or another risk factor, together with their physician, may decide to undergo screening at an even earlier age.

Each year, approximately 217,000 new cases are identified. Early detection is a vital step in successful diagnosis and treatment. Men should let their doctors know if they are experiencing any of the following:

• persistent pain in hips, upper thighs or lower back
• notice blood in their urine or semen
• experience urinary problems such as frequent urge to urinate, weak flow of urine, involuntary start and stop of the urine flow, pain or burning during urination, inability to urinate or difficulty starting or stopping the flow of urine.

For more information about the free prostate cancer screening, please call (734) 240-4162.