HACKENSACK UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER CONCLUDES NINTH YEAR OF FREE PSA TESTING FOR THE COMMUNITY

For its ninth consecutive year, Hackensack University Medical Center was an instrumental component to the success of the Daily News Free PSA Testing run throughout New York City and Northern New Jersey in the month of June, coinciding with Father’s Day and Prostate Cancer Awareness Week.  The PSA test checks for prostate specific antigen, a protein in the blood that comes from the prostate; a higher PSA level can indicate a threat of cancer.

Hackensack University Medical Center administered 2,443 free PSA tests this year, the most among the participating area hospitals. This brings the total number of PSA tests given by Hackensack University Medical Center to 24,941 since the start of the program. Hackensack University Medical Center offered testing at several locations in New York, and in the New Jersey towns of Hackensack and Westwood. For the first time, one of the Hackensack locations included The Shops at Riverside, which featured a fundraising reception at Papillon Mens’ Wear, supporting prostate research via the HUMC Foundation. There were 8,650 tests administered overall in the metropolitan area, held throughout hospitals, medical facilities, recreation centers, churches, and offices.

“Providing this potentially life-saving opportunity year after year requires tremendous effort across the board,” said Robert C. Garrett, president and chief executive officer of Hackensack University Medical Center. “I am extremely pleased with the continued success of this partnership, which benefits so many men within our community.”

“For a disease like prostate cancer, early detection is everything,” said Ihor Sawczuk, M.D., of Rockleigh, chairman, Department of Urology at Hackensack University Medical Center and co-chief, Urologic Oncology at the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center.  “To be able to offer free PSA tests in a variety of locations gives men a chance to detect a problem they might not otherwise give thought to; that is precisely the kind of action and awareness we strive to achieve every year as a result of this initiative.”

Since the Daily News began this initiative in 2000 (Hackensack University Medical Center jumped on board in 2002), more than 165,000 men have been tested.  This year, the Starr Foundation has donated $25,000 to underwrite the costs, which amounts to a $2.89 donation per test.  As a result, the medical center will receive a check from the Starr Foundation in the amount of $7,060.

Back