Published 9:35 pm Wednesday, March 4, 2020

All Pike County men, ages 40 and over, are encouraged to set aside as few minutes on Saturday to take a simple test that could save their lives.

Screening for prostate cancer takes about 10 minutes and those could be the most important minutes of a man’s life, said Dr. Michael Bivins, Urology Centers of Alabama.

Bivins, a Brundidge native and Pike County High School graduate, will conduct the free prostate screenings along with Dr. Thomas Moody, president of the Urology Health Foundation, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday at the Pike County Health Department at 900 South Franklin Drive in Troy.

Prostate cancer will affect one in six American men during their lifetime and is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men in the United States.

“Prostate screenings save lives,” Bivins said. “At last year’s screenings here in Pike County, a local citizen’s screening led to a diagnosis of prostate cancer. He was treated and is doing well. Early screening is the best chance of discovering the cancer while it is still in its early stages. “Early identification truly saves lives and gives the best chance a person has of getting back to normal without missing a beat. Prostate screening nationwide has decreased how severe a cancer diagnosis could be and the mortality rates are going down.”

Bivins’ grandfather died of prostate cancer so he knows the personal heartbreak of losing a loved one to the disease. He encourages all men ages 40 and over to take advantage of the free prostate screenings available to them on Saturday here in Pike County.

“The Urology Health Foundation holds free prostate screenings across the state in an effort to find prostate cancer in its early and most curable stages so that more lives will be saved,” Bivins said.

These screenings are available here in Pike County from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday at the Pike County Health Department. Appointments are not necessary. The screenings are free and could be life-saving.

For more information about this free screening, contact the Pike County Health Department at 334-566-2860.