Welcome to Check Up 13, in partnering with St. Vincent

WTHR, Channel 13, and Anne Marie Tiernon, co-anchor and health reporter, have partnered with St. Vincent, part of Ascension, one of the leading non-profit and Catholic health systems in the U.S., on an initiative called Check Up 13. The goal of the program is to educate and encourage Indiana residents to take a proactive role in their own health. Check Up 13 includes news stories that will air on the 13th of every month during WTHR-13’s Health Beat segment. The program will highlight Ascension St. Vincent medical staff and focus on the health topic screening, event or promotion for that month.

Men: Register for a free prostate screening to help catch problems early

Prostate cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in America, but it’s also one of the most treatable.

One in six American men is diagnosed with prostate cancer and nearly 2 million Americans are living with this deadly disease. According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, men are 35 percent more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than women are to be diagnosed with breast cancer.

And as men increase in age, their risk of developing prostate cancer increases exponentially, according to the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

• Approximately 1 in 10,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer before they turn 40
• But, for men ages 40 to 59, the prostate cancer rate jumps to 1 in 38
• And for men ages 60 to 69, the prostate cancer rate skyrockets to 1 in every 14 men
• Approximately 97 percent of all prostate cancers occur in men 50 years of age and older
• Nearly 60 percent of all prostate cancers are diagnosed in men over the age of 65
• African-American men are 56 percent more likely to develop prostate cancer compared with Caucasian men and nearly 2.5 times as likely to die from the disease

Men with a single first-degree relative—father, brother or son—with a history of prostate cancer are twice as likely to develop the disease, while those with two or more relatives are nearly four times as likely to be diagnosed. The risk is highest in men whose family members were diagnosed before age 65.

There are about 250,000 new cases diagnosed each year, and a non-smoking man is more likely to develop prostate cancer than colon cancer, bladder cancer, melanoma, lymphoma, and kidney cancer combined.

Prostate cancer is serious, but it is also very treatable if detected early. It is generally a slow-growing cancer and nearly 100 percent of men whose prostate cancer is detected before it spreads to other parts of the body are disease-free after five years.

To find out if you’re at risk, see if you qualify for a free prostate screening through ‘Check Up 13’. Make sure to register on the 13th of the month.