Constance Bivins of Brundidge is an advocate for the free prostate cancer screenings that will be offered from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday at the Pike County Health Department by the Urology Centers of Alabama. Bivins is the mother of Dr. Michael Bivins, Urology Centers of Alabama president, pictured.

Urology Centers of Alabama will sponsor free prostate cancer screenings for men ages 40 and over from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday at the Pike County Health Department, at 900 South Franklin Drive in Troy. The screenings will be a blood test only. Face masks will be required and social distancing will be enforced.

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

Perhaps no one in Pike County has been a more determined advocate for the free prostate cancer screenings than Constance Bivins of Brundidge. As the mother of Dr. Michael Bivins, Urology Centers of Alabama president, she has been actively encouraging men to take advantage of the free prostate screenings since they were first offered in 2010. “In 2010, 88 men were screened here in Pike County,” Bivins said. “In March, 2020, 139 were screened. It is good that the number of screenings has increased over the years but many more need to be done.” Each year, Bivins devotes time and energy to making sure that men are aware of the free prostate cancer screenings. “I pass out flyers about the free prostate cancer screenings throughout Brundidge – at the Pizza Palace, the police department, the post office, anywhere I go and wherever I go around Pike County,” Bivins said. “Every chance I get, I encourage men to go get screened.” Bivins said she cannot stress enough the importance of the screenings.

“Those who don’t get screened are taking a big chance,” she said. “A man can be walking around with prostate cancer and not know. Early detection is most important. One test, just a few minutes of time, can be lifesaving.” The results of the screenings will be delivered through the mail. Those who need further testing will be advised to see their personal physician. “I pray for all things and, I pray that men here in Pike County will take a few minutes on Saturday to be screen for prostate cancer,” Bivins said. “If not for them- selves, for the ones they love and the ones who love them.”