The University of Nebraska Medical Center Eppley Cancer Center has received a grant from the Prevent Cancer Foundation that will allow the center to provide free health screenings at the Nebraska State Fair.
Established in 1985, the foundation has provided more than $97 million in support of cancer prevention research, education and outreach programs nationwide. It also sponsors screening booths at the Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, and South Dakota state fairs.
Faculty and students will conduct the screenings through the UNMC College of Nursing Mobile Nursing Center. The screenings will take place in the Bob Devaney Sports Center every day, from Aug. 22 to Sept. 1 (see below schedule).
Screening hours are:
–Monday through Thursday, 4 to 7 p.m.
–Weekends 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
–Friday, Aug. 22, from 5 to 9 p.m.
–Friday, Aug. 29, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
–Monday, Sept. 1, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
In addition to screenings, there also will be educational material available on how to reduce the risk of cancer. Anyone with abnormal test results will be contacted.
Screenings and dates of screenings:
Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) screening for prostate cancer — Aug. 23, 24, 29, 30 and 31.
Dermascan (assessment for facial sun damage) – every day
Oral cancer checks (by the UNMC College of Dentistry) — Aug. 23 and 24
Take-home hemoccult kits (screening for colon cancer) – every day
Total cholesterol — Aug. 23, 24, 29, 30 and 31
Glucose — Aug. 22, 25, 28 and Sept. 1
Blood pressure – every day
Height/weight/BMI (body mass index) – every day
Honorary screening co-chairs are Sen. Chuck Hagel and wife, Lilibet, and Sen. Ben Nelson and wife, Diane. The booth is sponsored by Amgen, Central States Indemnity Company of Omaha, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth E. Stinson/Omaha Community Foundation, Novartis, Mrs. Susan D. Clifton, Vice Adm. Clyde R. Bell, and Wayne Ryan, Ph.D.
UNMC is the only public health science center in the state. Its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution. Through their commitment to education, research, patient care and outreach, UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, have established themselves as one of the country’s leading centers in cancer, transplantation biology, bioterrorism preparedness, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, genetics, biomedical technology and ophthalmology. UNMC’s research funding from external sources now exceeds $82 million annually and has resulted in the creation of more than 2,400 highly skilled jobs in the state. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes 513 physicians in 50 specialties and subspecialties who practice primarily in The Nebraska Medical Center. For more information, go to UNMC’s Web site at www.unmc.edu.
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