Go Blue for Men luncheon encourages early prostate cancer screening

Karen Middleton discussed losing her 46-year-old nephew to prostate cancer, while Dr. Abraham Butler explained when men should talk with their health care providers.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Moving to Success is encouraging men to take charge of their health and learn more about prostate cancer.

The organization held its second annual “Go Blue for Men” luncheon Friday, bringing attention to prostate health and the importance of early screening.

For Moving to Success President and CEO Karen Middleton, the message about prostate health is personal. Middleton says she lost her nephew to prostate cancer this summer.

“This is personal, but I had a nephew that just recently passed this past summer,” Middleton said. “He was only 46. He didn’t know about getting screened early. They’re told to get screened about age 50, and so we’re really trying to get the word out that our young men need to get tested.”

Middleton says her nephew’s death is a reminder of why she wants more men to learn about prostate cancer and the importance of getting screened.

Dr. Abraham Butler with Piedmont Primary Care says African American men, in particular, need to be aware of their prostate health.

“We know that African American men have the highest morbidity when it comes to prostate cancer,” And so, we want our men to be beacons for their family, to stand and guide others, and know that you only got two things in this life, your name and your health.”

Butler says men should start screening around age 50. He says men with a family history of prostate cancer at a young age may want to have a conversation with their healthcare provider about starting screening earlier.

Butler also says men should pay attention to changes with urination.

“If you are a man and you’re experiencing frequent nighttime urinations, if you’re having intermittent urine flows, where you stop and go and stop and go, if you feel like your stream has started to weaken, if you feel like you’re straining when you’re at the urinal, these are a lot of the symptoms that you would be concerned about for a prostate that’s starting to grow a little bit fast or abnormally,” Butler said.

Butler says men who notice those changes should have a conversation with their healthcare provider about screening.