I'm a proud Arkansan and urologist. I'm proud of my affiliation with Arkansas State University as an alumnus and now a trustee, and that pride feeds my determination to get every Arkansas male screened for prostate cancer.
Each September, Arkansas Urology dedicates the month to raising awareness of prostate cancer and providing free, lifesaving preventative screenings, but this September is a little different. When news of the coming pandemic first began to break early this year, I contemplated what this would mean for Arkansas Urology, the state's largest urological practice, with offices in central and northwest Arkansas as well as El Dorado, Pine Bluff, Harrison and several more places in between.
Back at the beginning of the year, I realized that covid-19, if it spread as some feared, would have a huge downward effect on something so precious in medicine--patient urgency. Sure enough, the American Medical Association recently published some findings that suggest that cancer diagnoses are way down, and not likely because of a decrease in actual incidence. For prostate cancer, new diagnoses are down nearly 50 percent.
The authors don't say it's because patients are waiting for covid-related lockdowns or case counts to ease. Instead, they say this: "The steep decreases in cancer screening and patients with a new incidence of cancer suggest the possibility of a future increase in patients with later-stage cancer."
In Arkansas, getting men and women in the door of a clinic for a routine checkup and screenings is so important. That's why 16 years ago Arkansas Urology set out to make prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screens easy and free to any patient who walks through our doors. Early this year, we took that further.
The mission of the Arkansas Urology Foundation is to expand free health screenings, across a range of conditions, to men across the state, raising money to carry education about just being seen. Prostate cancer is the most common diagnosis for men across all types of cancer, and the second leading cause of cancer-
related deaths among men who don't smoke.
Our chief advantage? Time.
That's in the hands of our patients, and I believe many have felt their regular screenings, or worse, early warning signals, "can wait" until covid-19 case counts fall or news of a vaccine appears. It cannot wait. At Arkansas Urology, we've adapted how we deliver care. Many of our consultations and appointments are done over telehealth: our patients don't need to leave their homes.
In observance of National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, Arkansas Urology hosts its 16th Kickoff to Men's Health in Little Rock. The event includes free men's health screenings including elective labs and prostate exams. Arkansas Urology will host wellness experts from other specialties, such as cardiac care, and hold fitness demonstrations and consultations around healthy lifestyle choices. To learn more, visit www.arkansasurology.com/kickoff-to-mens-health.
This Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, let's get back to the aggressive pace of medical screenings we were on at the start of the year.
One in nine men will get a prostate cancer diagnosis in his lifetime, but most men are being cured, and those who aren't are living longer than ever before. Patients who share symptoms and family histories early and often drive these positive trends higher still.
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Dr. Timothy Dean Langford is president of Arkansas Urology. He is certified by the American Board of Urology and a member of the American Medical Association, American Urological Association, Arkansas Medical Society and the Pulaski County Medical Society.