2 Works for You and St. Francis team up for prostate screenings, health fair

TULSA - For the sixth year in a row, KJRH 2 Works for You has partnered with Saint Francis Health Systems to bring the ZERO Project to End Prostate Cancer's free prostate cancer screenings to Tulsa onboard the Drive Against Prostate Cancer bus.

This year’s event included free screening services by the Tulsa Downtown Lions Club’s Mobile Health Unit (MSU) as well as a blood drive being conducted by the Oklahoma Blood Institute (OBI). The Lions Club will offer free screenings for diabetes, blood pressure, glaucoma, visual acuity, hearing and bone density.

The Drive Against Prostate Cancer Bus is a mobile screening unit where local licensed physicians from Saint Francis conduct a two-part screening procedure, including a complexed Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test and physical examination. The screenings are conducted in the 39-foot Airstream Land Yacht XL designed specifically for prostate cancer screenings. The exams are free, in part, thanks to the national support from Thor Industries, University of Michigan and Bayer Diagnostics. The PSA Blood Test results will be received within four weeks from the screening date and will be mailed via US postal service. Doctors performing DRE exams will discuss any findings with the patient after the exam is performed.

One in six men will get prostate cancer in his lifetime yet only half of men over the age of 50 even get screened. African American men are at special risk for the disease having the highest rate of prostate cancer in the world (one in four). They are also 2.5 times more likely to die from the disease. It is with respect for these startling statistics and an understanding of community need for increased awareness and support, that 2 Works for You is once again partnering with Saint Francis Health Systems to bring the Drive Against Prostate Cancer free screening bus to Tulsa.

In order to provide a wider array of free services to the community, 2 Works for You and Saint Francis Health Systems also invited the local Tulsa Downtown Lions Club to bring their Health on Wheels Mobile Screening Unit to the event. The MSU was a joint project originally financed by Oklahoma Lions Clubs in 1998. Since then, the Lions of Oklahoma have screened an average of 75 people a day for 150-175 days out of the year. The screenings are administered by trained Lions Club members and volunteers and the Unit’s ongoing expenses are now covered by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Oklahoma.

In an effort to give back to the community, 2 Works for You and Saint Francis Health Systems also invited the Oklahoma Blood Institute (OBI) to conduct a blood drive at the event. Established in 1977 in response to Oklahoma need, OBI is the seventh largest regional not-for-profit blood center in the United States. Beyond ensuring blood availability, OBI was created to lead in providing safe blood products, medical services, education and blood-related research. In 1985, OBI helped develop the original HIV Antigen test that was eventually used throughout the United States. OBI was also the first to implement Individual Donor Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT) for HIV and the West Nile Virus, the first to perform free cholesterol testing as a donor benefit, the first to offer prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood testing to men for prostate cancer screening, and the first to provide hepatitis B antibody testing. OBI currently provides blood to patients in 114 hospitals in 61 Oklahoma counties.