Calgary's Prostate Cancer Centre and Prostate Cancer Canada have joined forces with agribusiness and rural health practitioners to launch Combines for Cures, a pilot health project for Central Alberta.As a part of it, the centre's Man Van will travel to Olds on Wednesday, March 21 to give the opportunity to men from surrounding communities to take the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test.“We have had a Man Van that has been doing PSA testing in Calgary for about the last three years. We have tested about 6,000 guys,” said Pam Heard, Prostate Cancer Centre executive director.According to statistics provided by the centre, in 2012, eight men on average will die every week in Alberta from prostate cancer.“One in seven men will have a prostate cancer diagnosis in their lifetime. It's the number-one leading cause of cancer death in men,” said Heard.“With early detection, prostate cancer is highly curable, like 99 per cent curable.”The PSA test is a simple blood test, which measures the amount of PSA in the blood.“A high amount of PSA is an indication that you should have a further investigation of what is going on in your body,” said Heard.“It could be due to having the flu, but a high range means OK, we are going to do the glove test and we are going to go see a urologist and do further exams to see what is going on there.”The centre recommends that men get the test done every five years once they turn 40, and every year once they turn 50. The first test results will serve as a baseline, to which doctors will compare the following test results.“What urologists have told me is that 10 years ago, when they had a patient in their office, these guys were basically dying,” said Heard.“Now, as men get more aware and get the PSA test, the urologists are getting a 90 per cent cure rate.”The Man Van travelled to Delburne last Wednesday. Health practitioners did the PSA test on 46 men.“They were all farmers and they all said that it was unbelievable and fantastic. None of them had ever had a PSA test before,” said Herd.“We are just so thrilled with the response. The success on that with one week of advertising was amazing.”If the Combines for Cures program continues to be successful, the Prostate Cancer Centre will buy a second Man Van, which will be for rural Alberta.Since the Man Van has a 50-people limit, Heard advises people to arrive early.“The other thing is, if they don't get a test there, they can always ask their family doctor,” said Heard.“It is not the end of the world.”The Combines for Cures clinic will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Royal Canadian Legion Hall.Farmers can also make grain donations to the program through their local Crop Production Services (CPS) retail outlets from March to August. Pledge forms are available in CPS stores.
