Man Van returns to Medicine Hat, providing early screening for prostate cancer

By ANNA SMITH Local Journalism Initiative on October 3, 2024.

asmith@medicinehatnews.com

The Man Van will be returning to Medicine Hat this weekend, offering a change for residents to get their blood checked and screen for potentially life-threatening cancer.

The van is put on by Rocky View Hospital out of Calgary, and usually visits roughly once a year to offer prostate-specific antigen blood tests, usually shortened to PSA testing for men aged 40-70.

“Any man between 40 and 70 can get their blood taken, and they get a PSA test. And then the Man Van contacts them with the results,” said Philip Buisseret, chairman of the Medicine Hat and Area Prostate Cancer Support Society.

“So they send them results and tell them what the PSA is, and they give them something like a little passport, and they get to keep that, and watch from year to year and see if it changes.”

Rising PSA levels can be indicative of prostate cancer, said Buisseret, having awareness of where someone’s baseline is can save lives, as early detection can both nip aggressive or metastasizing cancers in the bud, as well as potentially avoid more aggressive treatment requirements which can have certain side effects.

Buisseret said that out of the roughly 100 men that attend the support group for the area, 90 per cent of them found out they had cancer through regular PSA blood testing.

Roughly one in seven men will develop prostate cancer at some point in their lives, said Buisseret.

“When I see the lineup of guys there, I count to six, and the seventh one is going to have prostate cancer. It’s that many guys. It’s more common than the ladies that have breast cancer, but it’s not spoken about an awful lot. That’s why it’s important to get the word out,” said Buisseret.

The van will be located in the London Drugs parking lot on Saturday and will be there from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

A bus has been provided by Southland Transportation for those waiting to be called in for testing to shelter in, and limited refreshments have been donated by Tim Hortons.

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