Men going to Thursday night's Padres game against the Dodgers at Petco Park can get a free prostate screening, compliments of Scripps Health, and meet former all-star Steve Garvey.
The screenings, open to men 50 and older, will start when the gates to the Park in the Park open at 4:30 p.m. Men 40 and over will be eligible for testing if they have a family history of prostate cancer.
Scripps medical personnel will offer prostate-specific antigen — PSA — blood tests, and physicians will administer digital rectal exams from the privacy of the healthcare provider's Mobile Medical Unit.
"PSA screenings save lives," said Dr. Carl Rossi, medical director of the Scripps Proton Therapy Center.
"The cure rate for prostate cancer has increased significantly since widespread use of PSA testing began in the early 1990s," Rossi said. "When diagnosed early, at the local or regional stages, national survival rates are nearly 100 percent."
Participants will receive test results via mail. Educational materials about prostate cancer will also be available.
According to Scripps Health, Garvey will greet men at the testing site from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. The hero of the Padres 1984 National League championship team for hitting a game-winning home run in Game Four against the Chicago Cubs, and a former Dodger, Garvey is a prostate cancer survivor, Scripps said.
The event is also being put on by baseball author and broadcaster Ed Randall, another prostate cancer survivor who runs the nonprofit Fans for the Cure.
The testing site will be open until the seventh inning, according to Scripps Health.
