Crapo Plans For Health Booths For 2004

Washington, DC â?? Idaho Senator Mike Crapo today released results from the Mike Crapo Health Awareness booths at four regional fairs in Idaho. The booths, which operated during August and September, provide free or reduced cost cancer screening tests, including prostate specific antigen (PSAs) tests for prostate cancer. Information on cancer detection and other health issues is also available at the booths. Crapo also plans to host the booths at the four fairs again during the 2004 season. The fairs include the Eastern Idaho State Fair (Blackfoot), the North Idaho Fair (Coeur dâ??Alene), the Twin Falls County Fair (Filer), and the Western Idaho Fair (Garden City).â??These health awareness booths have provided invaluable medical information to thousands of Idahoans since they were started three years ago,â?? Crapo said. â??We could not have done it without the support of a number of local hospitals and medical facilities and the hundreds of hours that local doctors and volunteers put in during the fairs. Early detection is the key to successfully battling cancer, and I am pleased that so many Idahoans took the time to have these simple tests done.â??Total PSAsElevated PSAsCholesterolGlucoseMammograms*Eastern Idaho State Fair2239.4%515474N/ANorth Idaho Fair95N/A200included N/Ain cholesterol Twin Falls County Fair10112%N/AN/A91Western Idaho Fair13514%568N/A116* Mammograms were not available this year at the Eastern Idaho State Fair and the North Idaho Fair. At the Twin Falls County Fair, mammograms were provided for free or at a reduced cost at an off-site location.Those who tested positive for elevated PSA levels were notified privately and referred to their personal physician for medical follow-up. Almost 29,000 American men die each year from prostate cancer; one in six is at lifetime risk of developing prostate cancer. Each year, Crapo has increased the health awareness opportunities and information available. This year, North Idaho Fair was able to utilize a new rural health mobile clinic, and also taught breast self-exam as well as provided information on sun safety, colorectal cancer, and lung cancer prevention. At the Twin Falls County Fair and the Western Idaho Fair, mammograms were provided for free or at a reduced cost.The Mike Crapo Health Awareness Booths were established in cooperation with national sponsors and local health care providers after Crapo successfully underwent surgery for prostate cancer in January of 2000.# # #