M. D. Anderson, KPRC-TV Channel 2 to Launch Buddy Check 2000 Prostate Screening Project

The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is partnering with KPRC-TV Channel 2 to present Buddy Check 2000, an innovative community project offering free prostate cancer screenings and education.

Channel 2 anchorwoman Linda Lorelle is headlining the project, modeled after the highly successful Buddy Check 2 breast cancer awareness effort launched in 1994. Nominated for a community service Emmy, Channel 2 and M. D. Anderson partnered for Buddy Check 2, which encouraged women to find a buddy to help them remember to do regular breast screening.

Airing in Sept. on Channel 2, reports on Buddy Check 2000 will encourage the women who participated in Buddy Check 2, to persuade their male buddies to have a prostate cancer screening. Men will also be encouraged to buddy up with family members and friends for annual screenings that can save lives.

"Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer among men in the United States, and the chances of being diagnosed with it increase with age," says Dr. Richard Babaian, professor of urology and director of M. D. Anderson's Prostate Cancer Detection Clinic. "It's important for men to get screened regularly for prostate cancer, so we can diagnose it in earlier stages when treatment is most effective."

M. D. Anderson will offer free prostate cancer screenings to 2,000 eligible men next month. Each screening will include a prostate specific antigen blood test and a digital rectal exam.

Participants must be between 50 and 70, and never have been diagnosed with prostate cancer. African American men and men with a family history of prostate cancer are encouraged to be screened beginning at age 45. African American men are especially at risk as they are twice as likely to develop prostate cancer than white men.

The screenings will be scheduled 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Wed., Sept. 20; 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Thurs., Sept. 21 and 7:30. a.m.-noon Sat., Sept. 23. Screenings will take place in the Cancer Prevention Clinic on the sixth floor of M. D. Anderson's Charles A. LeMaistre Clinic.

To schedule an appointment call, (713) 792-8924. Free parking is available in Garage 10 (Holcombe Boulevard and John Freeman Avenue). Take either the third or fourth floor crosswalk into the cancer center. Take the RC elevators to the sixth floor. The Cancer Prevention Clinic is on the right.

"We are looking forward to bringing Buddy Check 2000 to the community," says KPRC general manager Steve Wasserman. "Our goal is to educate men about the importance of prostate cancer screening. Channel 2 is excited about this opportunity to partner with M. D. Anderson, recently ranked the number one cancer center in the country, to bring this first-of-its-kind program to our viewers."

The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 180,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in men.

"The good news is that when prostate cancer is detected early, the five-year survival rate is extremely high, " says Dr. Babaian. "The best way to detect prostate cancer early is through yearly screening."

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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