Press Release From The Cancer Institute of New Jersey

September 13, 2006
Contact: Candace Botnick
732/235-9871
botnicca@umdnj.edu

Free Prostate Cancer Screening Offered
at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey
One in every six men will be diagnosed this year alone

New Brunswick — In an effort to reduce New Jersey’s high incidence and mortality rate of prostate cancer, The Dean and Betty Gallo Prostate Cancer Center at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital are offering a free prostate cancer screening program open to all men 50 years and older with no history of prostate cancer or 40 years and older with a family history of prostate cancer. The screening will take place on September 25, 26, and 27 from 5:00pm – 8:00pm at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, located at 195 Little Albany Street, New Brunswick. An appointment is necessary and can be made by calling 732/247-2050.

“The prostate cancer screening examination will only take a few moments for individuals to complete, but may save the lives of our fathers, grandfathers, brothers, sons and uncles,” stated Ronald A. Morton, Jr., M.D., Director of Urologic Oncology at CINJ and Professor of Surgery, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. “Research has shown that early detection of prostate cancer does save lives. These screening exams, which consists of a PSA (prostate specific antigen) blood test and a DRE (digital rectum exam) can alert physicians to early stage prostate cancer that can, in most cases, be successfully treated.”

The most recent American Cancer Society statistics show that New Jersey has one of the highest incidences of prostate cancer in the United States. In 2006 the American Cancer Society estimates that close to 7,000 men in New Jersey will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and nearly 1,000 men will die from the disease this year alone. Approximately one man dies every 18 minutes from the disease. African-American men have the world’s highest rate of prostate cancer and prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death among Hispanic men. Early detection of prostate cancer is key to improving the chances of successful treatment for the disease.

The Cancer Institute of New Jersey is New Jersey’s first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, and is dedicated to improving the prevention, detection, treatment and care of patients with cancer. CINJ’s physician-scientists engage in translational research, transforming their laboratory discoveries into clinical practice-quite literally bringing research to life. The Cancer Institute of New Jersey is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. To support CINJ, please call The Cancer Institute of New Jersey Foundation at 732/235-8614.

The Cancer Institute of New Jersey Network is comprised of hospitals throughout the state and provides a mechanism to rapidly disseminate important discoveries into the community. Partner Hospitals: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Atlantic Health System (Morristown Memorial Hospital, Mountainside Hospital, Overlook Hospital). Affiliate Hospitals: Bayshore Community Hospital, CentraState Healthcare System, Cooper University Hospital (CINJ at Cooper),* Jersey Shore University Medical Center, JFK Medical Center, Monmouth Medical Center, Raritan Bay Medical Center, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton (CINJ-Hamilton), Saint Peter’s University Hospital, Somerset Medical Center, Southern Ocean County Hospital, The University Hospital/UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School,* and University Medical Center at Princeton *Academic Affiliate