DENVER, August 30, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- A council of leading prostate cancer experts is working to protect the lives of American men by providing lifesaving prostate cancer screenings. The Prostate Conditions Education Council (PCEC) - a national organization committed to men's health and a leader in prostate cancer screening - is once again coordinating free or low-cost screenings (http://www.prostateconditions.org/pcaw-prostate-cancer-awareness-week) as part of its national Prostate Cancer Awareness Week (PCAW) to help encourage men to protect their health.

Right now, many men are confused about the benefits of prostate cancer screenings, said Dr. E. David Crawford, Head of the Urologic Oncology Department at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and Founder/Chairman of the PCEC. The truth is prostate cancer can be quite aggressive and screening is safe. We want men to understand that screening is necessary to detect this disease.

One of the most successfully coordinated cancer screening programs in history, this year's PCAW will be held September 19-25 and includes screening events at nearly 500 sites across the country. Men can visit http://www.prostateconditions.org/screening-site-finder. Since its inception, PCAW has helped screen more than four million men.

The PCEC recommends a baseline prostate health assessment, including Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test and a Digital Rectal Exam (DRE), for all men beginning at 35 years of age and to work with their doctors to determine a screening schedule that is right for them. Prostate cancer screenings during PCAW take about 10 minutes and include a PSA blood test and a DRE administered by a trained professional. Men can also choose to have their cholesterol and testosterone levels checked, as many factors play into overall health awareness and a man's risk for prostate cancer.

This year, PCAW will screen nearly 125,000 men. These men will not only play an active role in safeguarding their health, but data collected during these screenings will help researchers find new and improved ways to address this deadly disease, said Wendy Poage, president of PCEC.

In addition to making available essential screening options for men, PCAW also provides valuable information on research issues key to eliminating this threat. Most recently, data from the 2007 and 2008 PCAW screenings, presented at the 2010 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, helped bring to light the high prevalence of supplement use among American men. Given previous research suggesting an association between the use of multivitamins and increased risk of advanced prostate cancer, this data provided crucial insights that will help the research community further investigate the safety and efficacy of supplementation and its correlation with prostate cancer. PCAW has also provided an opportunity to test new screening methods, such as urine analyses tests.

To find a PCAW screening site near you and for more information on prostate cancer, please visit http://www.prostateconditions.org or call toll free 866-4PROST8. You can also join in the conversation by searching for the Prostate Conditions Education Council on Facebook or 4prost8health on Twitter.

About Prostate Cancer Awareness Week

Since 1989, PCEC has coordinated national Prostate Cancer Awareness Week in September. During this time period, the PCEC organizes hundreds of free or low-cost screening sites for more than 125,000 men across the country. To date, the program has resulted in more than 4 million screenings. For more information about how PCEC supports community awareness and education, please visit http://www.prostateconditions.org.

About Prostate Conditions Education Council

A national organization committed to men's health, the Prostate Conditions Education Council (PCEC) - formally the Prostate Cancer Education Council - is the nation's leading resource for information on prostate health. The PCEC is dedicated to saving lives through awareness and the education of men, the women in their lives, as well as the medical community about prostate cancer prevalence, the importance of early detection, and available treatment options, as well as other men's health issues. The Council - comprised of a consortium of leading physicians, health educators, scientists and prostate cancer advocates - aims to conduct nation wide screenings for men and perform research that will aid in the detection and treatment of prostate conditions. More information is available at http://www.prostateconditions.org.

SOURCE: Prostate Conditions Education Council

CONTACT: Tara Goodin, Jones Public Affairs, +1-202-591-4041,tara@jonespa.com; or Wendy Poage, President, PCEC, +1-303-316-4685,wendy.poage@pcaw.com