For the sixth consecutive year, the New York Yankees will join with NewYork-Presbyterian - the official hospital of the New York Yankees - Columbia University Medical Center, Weill Cornell Medicine and Ed Randall's Fans for the Cure (fans4thecure.org) to save the lives of fans and employees from prostate cancer during Prostate Cancer Awareness Month by offering a free screening.
Prior to and during the 7:05 p.m. game against the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday, September 28, ticketed fans, game day employees and media members 40 years of age and older are encouraged to visit the area near Main Level Section 220, where medical personnel under the direction of Dr. James McKiernan, Urologist-in-Chief, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, will be standing by to administer quick and simple PSA blood tests to all who request one. Those fans will have the option of continuing on to the first aid room across the hall to take a digital rectal exam, a highly accurate marker for the disease.
"Once again, we are excited to partner with Fans for the Cure to offer free cancer checkups and information about prostate cancer risk," said Dr. McKiernan. "This is a great chance to get out and support the Bronx Bombers and find out more about the most common cancer to affect men in America, how you can know your stats and be informed about early detection and treatment options."
The statistics regarding prostate cancer are saddening. One in six Caucasian men, one in five Hispanics and one in four African-Americans will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, the #1 non-skin cancer in America. More than 240,000 men will receive a diagnosis of prostate cancer in the calendar year 2016, enough to fill every seat in five Yankee Stadiums.
"I was 47 years old with no history of cancer in the family and no symptoms when I was diagnosed with prostate cancer," said Fans for the Cure Founder and CEO Ed Randall. "Being granted a second at-bat at life, I learned that prostate cancer in its earliest stages has no symptoms. Early detection saved my life and we are again here to keep men in the ballgame so that they can enjoy Yankees baseball for many years to come. What a privilege it is for us to work together with these two world-class institutions."
In the time it takes to play a typical Yankees game, 72 men across the country will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Nine others will die, one per inning.  A man is 33% more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than a woman is breast cancer. And yet, there is a 97% cure rate if prostate cancer is detected early.
More than one quarter of the men tested in Yankee Stadium previously had elevated PSA levels, twice the normal average. At a prior screening, 305 men answered this call to action, including veteran MLB umpire John Hirschbeck, whose life was saved by the screening.
Ed Randall's Fans for the Cure (www.fans4thecure.org) is a 501c3 charity dedicated to helping men recognize the risks of prostate cancer and the immense value of early detection in both extending and saving their lives. The charity coordinates PSA screenings, sponsors medical seminars, offers physician and hospital referrals and provides educational materials (online and hard copy).