COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) – The John B. Amos Cancer Center in Columbus is hosting a free prostate cancer screening event to kick off Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.

Free screenings will be available for men ages 40 to 69. The cancer center is partnering with the Urology Center of Columbus and West Central Georgia Cancer Coalition and Centricity Research for the event. They hope to spread awareness on the importance of cancer screenings.

Dr. Woodrow McWilliams is a radiation oncologist at the John B. Amos Cancer Center.
McWilliams says early detection is a game changer for patients who face prostate cancer.

“We used to say that there was about a 30 percent reduction in death rate mortality risk by detecting it early at one point,” explained Dr. McWilliams. “Now, the recent data from 1993 to 2013, they’ve seen almost a 50 percent reduction in death with patients. Prostate cancer is very common. One in eight men get prostate cancer at some point in their lifetime, but only one in 41 die directly from it.”

In the past physicians have been able to screen up to 72 patients in one day during the event.

Free screenings will be offered on Saturday, Sept. 16 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The John B. Amos Cancer Center is located at 1831 5th Ave., Columbus, GA, 31904.

There is no pre-registration required.