Be prepared: Get a free prostate test

September is Emergency Preparedness Month, but how many men reading this are really prepared to deal with prostate disease?  This is one emergency any man above 40 can prepare for with a simple blood test.

Now, a simple blood donation ”“ you do that anyway, right? ”“ comes with a free prostate test.

One 60-year-old gentleman who declined to give his name had one a screening at age 54 and upon receiving “good news that is was under 4 on a scale of 1 to 10, I didn”™t bother to go back the next year.” In 2006, he learned he had prostate cancer. “I”™m sorry I can”™t go back and change my lackadaisical attitude,” said the PSA test-resister, who is going for his next round of chemo treatments next week.

Perhaps you can learn from others”™ mistakes. Starting today, Sept. 24, any man 40 years or older who successfully donates whole blood or platelets at the Community Blood Services in New Windsor or Warwick can request a free PSA (prostate cancer screening) test.

For more information, call 294-3362. Walk-ins are welcome, but an appointment is needed to donate platelets. There is currently less than a one-day supply of blood in Orange County, and types O-positive, O-negative, B-negative and A-positive are especially needed. And the free PSA screening should be added incentive to help a worthwhile cause. (Come on, guys!)