Prostate Testing Sessions
Burgess Hill District Lions have teamed up again this year with the Prostate Cancer Support Organisation (PCaSO) again to offer free PSA testing sessions for men aged 40-80. This took place on October 21st 2023 from 10am to 4pm at The Triangle Leisure Centre, Triangle Way, Burgess Hill, RH15 8WA. A poster can be downloaded here. About 800 men took part in this potentially life saving event.
Many thanks are due to all the PCaSO nurses and volunteers who help to organise this.
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In 2022 Burgess Hill District Lions again teamed up with the Prostate Cancer Support Organisation (PCaSO) again to offer free PSA testing sessions for men aged 40-80. This took place on October 8th 2022 from 10am to 4pm at The Triangle Leisure Centre, Triangle Way, Burgess Hill, RH15 8WA. Over 1000 men were tested - a record for us!
In 2019 testing took place at the Triangle Leisure Centre, Triangle Way, Burgess Hill RH15 8WA. The session took place from 10am to 4pm and was available free to men from the ages of 45 to 80. We had 637 men come for testing in 2019!
We had 280 men come for testing at our first session on 8th October 2016 and we were pleased to get 342 men along to our second one on 21st October 2017. It was so successful that we organised another one in 2018 as this is a vital service. This was on 13th October 2018 in Cyprus Hall, as The Martlets is now closed. We were extremely pleased to get 444 men along for testing this time.
Similar sessions have recently been organised by Lions Clubs in Worthing and Brighton and these have been well attended and have proved to be very worthwhile.
1 in every 2 men will have a problem with their prostrate gland at some stage on their lives. It could be infection, enlargement or cancer. Burgess Hill District Lions, together with PCaSO will be offering free PSA screening for men aged between 45 and 80.
The screening is conducted by trained personnel and nurses who will take a blood sample from the arm that will be sent to a laboratory for analysis. The test result will then be posted to the man.
PSA stands for Prostate Specific Antigen and this simple blood test measures the amount of antigen produced by the prostate entering the blood. It is not a direct test for cancer as a moderately raised reading can be an indicator of other problems. A high reading merely acts as an advice for further tests to see if any other treatment is needed.
Some leading clinicians believe all men over 50 should know their PSA level and have regular yearly checks. Unlike some other screenings, PSA screening is not offered automatically on NHS, which is why Burgess Hill District Lions Club is working with PCaSO to provide this invaluable service.
Almost 11,000 men die of prostate cancer each year and this simple, quick test could prove to be a lifesaver. A spokesman for Burgess Hill District Lions Club said that "if our screening event helps save just one life it then it will be well worth the investment".
