On Tuesday, May 5, men in Fairbanks had the opportunity to exchange a few minutes of their time and a little blood for a free beer and a better chance and fighting prostate cancer.
FAIRBANKS, Alaska - Men in Fairbanks had the opportunity this week to exchange a few minutes of their time and a little blood for a free beer and a better chance at fighting prostate cancer .
The free screenings at Lat 65 Brewing Company were part of an event called “Beer for my Boys. ” The purpose of the event was to bring awareness and screening information about men’s health and cancer screening to the masses, according to Jess Gutzwiler, vice president of community relations and philanthropy for the The nonprofit focuses on cancer treatment in Alaska and noticed that there appeared to be an unequal amount of support between men’s and women’s cancer treatment.
“Women have mammograms and other parties support that and there’s really not a lot out for men,” Gutzwiler said. “So, we wanted to do a fun event that brought screening to where men are and where men want to come. ” They decided that would be breweries in Fairbanks. They had success at a similar event in Soldotna with Kenai River Brewing.
That success was seen again on Tuesday, as“Really what this blood draw is doing is a baseline to know where your normal is,” she said, adding that the screening on Tuesday was to help men to learn what is normal for them. It can even help them detect signs of cancer. The screenings targeted men over 40 years of age, as that’s when prostate health becomes a concern according to Dr. Dave Sharp, a Urologist at Fairbanks Urology.
“If we looked at every 80-year-old man’s prostate and carefully looked through it, I’d see prostate cancer cells in most of those men, even more than one in eight,” he explained. “In younger men and middle-aged men, as we start to get older, that prevalence goes up and so we want to make sure that we identify it and then determine each individual’s personal risk and whether or not it needs to be treated, and if so, how.
”“An elevated PSA just means that your risk of an underlying cancer is higher. That doesn’t necessarily mean that we need to jump to a biopsy,” he said.
“And not everybody with a positive biopsy needs to have their prostate cancer treated. ”“Some prostate cancers we can just watch, some we’d want to treat with either surgery or radiation or medicines,” Sharp said. While advancements are helping to reduce morbidity in prostate cancer, “it remains the number two or three killer in men who get cancer,” Sharp said.
“Being able just to support this community and to be able to offer this at no cost, it just shows that there’s a need, whether it’s because it was covered previously by insurance or other things, we just are so proud to be out here and support them,” Gutzwiler said. Plane crashes near Knik Glacier, pilot seriously injuredAnchorage woman appears in court on murder charge in mother’s deathAlaska cancer survivor creates online resource to help others navigate diagnosis
Beer For My Boys Aurora Integrated Oncology Foundation Dr. Dave Sharp Jess Gutzewiler Fairbanks Fairbanks Urology Lat 65 Brewing Company Prostate-Specific Antigen PSA
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Day recognized with rally in FairbanksMay 5, is recognized as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Day. That day was recognized in Fairbanks with a gathering of residents and community leaders.
Read more »
Fairbanks utility officials talk about future plans at annual meetingFairbanks utility Golden Valley Electric Association held its annual meeting Tuesday.
Read more »
Surviving dog from Caswell Lakes property being cared for by Forget-Me-Not Animal RescueWoody is being housed with Forget-Me-Not Animal Rescue, which is based in Fairbanks.
Read more »
Why you may not want to let your lawn grow wild this ‘No Mow May’“No Mow May” started in the U.K. as a campaign to increase biodiversity. But new research reveals a month without mowing may not be as beneficial for lawns everywhere.
Read more »