May 2006, Vol. 8 Issue 2
Holly Coyle

Honey? Forget the Oil Change. Get Checked for Cancer

Robert Scamnahorn couldn’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday morning. He brought his wife, who has a family history of breast cancer, in for a mammogram. While she got her much-needed mammogram, he underwent a free screening for prostate cancer.

“I care about her welfare so I wanted to just make sure—for peace of mind,” Scamnahorn said, while standing in front of the Texas Cancer Clinic on the sunny spring morning.

The Texas Cancer Clinic held free prostate cancer screenings and mammograms on Thursday, April 20th and April 22nd.. Prostate Cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among men in America. Yet studies show that men are much more likely to take their cars into the auto shop than go to the doctor. So the idea, get women and men to come in together and get tested fast under one roof.

“We have many women who brought their husbands in,” said Dr. Sylvia Zubyk and laughed as she added, “Sometimes the men got snuck in here—they didn’t even know they were coming to get screened.”

Christus Santa Rosa’s Mobile Mammography unit offered the mammograms. Massage therapists helped people relax before and after the screenings. “It’s so important to catch cancer early,” said Dr. Bradley Prestidge, Medical Director for TCC. “Why not make the screening itself as comfortable as possible?”

“This is fabulous,” said one man waiting for his screening while a massage therapist gently massaged his shoulders.

Because of the free screening, thirteen men’s lives were changed for the better. That’s how many had high PSA readings, or Prostate Specific Antigen tests. Those men are being tested to determine if they have prostate cancer. The Texas Cancer Clinic is the most advanced center in San Antonio for treating prostate cancer. ">