Free cancer screenings will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, August 10, at the Barton County Health Department, 1300 Kansas Avenue in Great Bend. This community outreach event is free and open to the public. The cancer screenings are hosted by Great Bend Masonic Lodge No. 15, Midwest Cancer Alliance (MCA), and The University of Kansas Cancer Center (KUCC). 

Lodge members and staff from MCA are teaming up with health professionals from the University of Kansas Medical Center to provide health services that include skin cancer screenings, prostate cancer screenings, screen-to-save colon cancer home screening kits, and body mass index (BMI) assessments. 

Area Masons work with staff from the MCA, the outreach network of KUCC, and the Kansas Masonic Foundation to coordinate many of the free screening events that often draw several hundred attendees of all ages. According to Brooke Groneman, MCA outreach director, over 10,000 Kansas residents have attended the screenings since 2003.  

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, approximately 9,500 Americans are diagnosed with some form of skin cancer every day, and nearly 250 of those are diagnosed with melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. The Centers for Disease Control reports that cancer is currently the second leading cause of death in Kansas, and the region has higher than average rates of skin cancer compared to other parts of the country.  

“When it comes to the possibility of cancer, it’s always better to catch a potential problem in the earliest stage possible,” said KUMC dermatologist Rachel Pflederer, M.D. Anyone identified with a possible health concern at one of the free cancer screenings is advised by the screening team to follow up with his/her local physician. For more information on the free cancer screening event in Great Bend or on other screening events across the state in 2019, call Brooke Groneman at the MCA at 913-588-4719.