Local hospitals to offer free prostate cancer screenings

GABRIEL BRAVO | DAILY EVERGREEN FILE

Pullman Regional Hospital’s primary care clinic, which includes Pullman family medicine and Palouse pediatrics behavioral health, are offering telemedicine services due to COVID-19.

ELAYNE RODRIGUEZ, Evergreen reporter

Gritman Medical Center and Pullman Regional Hospital will offer free prostate cancer screenings on 8 a.m. to noon on Tuesday for National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.

The patients will fill out a questionnaire and do a blood sample screening to test for Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA), a common indicator of potential prostate cancer, according to the Gritman Medical Center press release. They will also have the option to do physical exam for prostate tumors.

Bryan Smith, medical doctor for Gritman Hospital, said in the Gritman Medical Center press release that they are trying to bring awareness for men’s health at the Palouse. Besides the prostate screening clinic, men should get checked for diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Prostate cancer is most common in middle-aged men who have skin cancer, according to the press release.

Dr. Bryan Smith and Dr. John Keizur of Palouse Urology will lead the clinics at the Palouse Urology offices located on 825 SE Bishop Boulevard.

The free screenings and exam opportunities happen annually and has been going on for 23 years.