For Immediate Release
August 19, 2015
Gretchen Crawley
(865) 607-9366
gretchen.crawley@provisionproton.com
Eddie Check® and the Provision Center for Proton Therapy
Team Up for Blood Drive and Free PSA Screenings
Available at 10 Different East Tennessee locations across 8 counties Sept 17-18
(Knoxville, Tenn.) - - One in seven men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime – and one in 38 will die from it.
Prostate cancer is second only to skin cancer as the most common cancer in American men and second only to lung cancer as the
leading cancer-based cause of death in American men. The American Cancer Society estimates that in the U.S. during 2015, about
220,800 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed and 27,540 men will die from it.
But there’s still good news. If prostate cancer is caught early, the five-year survival rate is nearly 100%. The numbers say it all: Get
tested! Prostate cancer is rare before age 40, so if you are 40 or older, the first step is a free, simple PSA screening that only requires a
blood sample. “PSA” stands for prostate-specific antigen, a protein produced by prostate cells. The PSA test is done to help diagnose
and follow prostate cancer in men. No certain PSA level is called normal or abnormal, and an elevated level does not mean you have
prostate cancer – only a biopsy can diagnose cancer. Always discuss PSA test results with your doctor and be sure to have a digital
rectal exam (DRE), as about 6% of men with prostate cancer continue to have normal PSA.
In 2004, Rockford-based Nisus Corporation, a manufacturer of green products for the pest control and wood preservation industries,
teamed up with area hospitals and MEDIC Regional Blood Center to create Eddie Check, an annual event that adds free PSA
screening for prostate cancer to blood drives. It was a simple strategy using MEDIC's already existing resources to make it fast and
easy for men to get a blood sample drawn for the screening. Nisus has a personal stake in the fight; marketing vice president Jim
Gorman is a prostate cancer survivor, while company president Kevin L. Kirkland lost his father, Eddie Kirkland, to the disease. In
fact, “Eddie Check” is named for Eddie Kirkland.
Provision Center for Proton Therapy joins Nisus and MEDIC as the title sponsor of this important outreach event. Proton therapy is an
advanced form radiation therapy that is particularly effective in treating prostate cancer. Proton therapy is superior to traditional
radiation therapy in that it spares healthy surrounding tissue and vital organs while precisely targeting the cancerous tumor. Provision
Center for Proton Therapy advocates early detection through preventive screenings like the annual Eddie Check initiative.
Eddie Check will be held at six locations on Thursday and seven on Friday (10 different locations) in eight East Tennessee counties
including Knox, Anderson, Scott, Hamblen, Cocke, Blount, Roane and McMinn. Blood samples for PSA screening will be taken at
every location during all hours, even if you don’t choose to donate blood, you can still get the free PSA test by donating a small vial of
blood. This free PSA screening is available for men 40 years of age or older, or in the event of family history at an age 10 years
younger than the affected relative's age at his cancer onset.
Thursday, September 17
 MEDIC Donor Center, 1601 Ailor Ave., Knoxville, 8:00 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Sports Radio WNML remote, 3:00-7:00 p.m.
 MEDIC Donor Center-Farragut, 11000 Kingston Pike (behind Pittsburgh Paints), Farragut, 9 a.m.-7:00 p.m.; Gunner WIVK FM
remote, 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
 Provision Center for Proton Therapy, 6450 Provision Cares Way, Knoxville (Bloodmobile), 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.; Hallerin Hill
News/Talk 98.7 FM remote, 6:00-10:00 a.m.; Phil Williams News/Talk 98.7 FM remote, 3:00-6:00 p.m.
 Books-A-Million, 310 S. Illinois Ave., Oak Ridge (Bloodmobile), 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
 Walmart-Morristown, 475 S. Davy Crockett Pkwy., Morristown (Bloodmobile), 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
 Walmart-Oneida, 19740 Alberta St., Oneida (Bloodmobile), 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
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Friday, September 18
 MEDIC Donor Center, Headquarters, 1601 Ailor Ave., Knoxville, 8:00 a.m.-6:30 p.m.; Phil Williams News/Talk 98.7 FM
remote, 3:00-6:00 p.m.
 MEDIC Donor Center-Farragut, 11000 Kingston Pike (behind Pittsburgh Paints), Farragut, 6:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
 Provision Center for Proton Therapy, 6450 Provision Cares Way, Knoxville (Bloodmobile), 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.; Gunner WIVK
FM remote, 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
 Walmart-Newport, 1075 Cosby Hwy., Newport (Bloodmobile), 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
 New Midland Plaza, 232 S. Calderwood St., Alcoa (Bloodmobile), 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
 Lowe’s-Athens, 1751 South Congress Pkwy., Athens (Bloodmobile), 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
 Kingston Church of Christ, Kingston, 120 Spring Street, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., Family Center Room
Free cholesterol screenings and refreshments as well as special Tennessee vs. Florida "Tail" Gate T-shirts will be provided by MEDIC
for all blood donors at all sites. For those men donating blood, a sample for the PSA screening can be taken during donation; however,
no blood donation is necessary for the free PSA test alone—only a simple blood sample is needed. MEDIC will draw all samples,
which will then be analyzed by an independent laboratory funded by the Provision CARES Foundation.
MEDIC Regional Blood Center, a not-for-profit accredited member of both the Accredited American Association of Blood Banks and
America’s Blood Centers, is the only blood collector and supplier for a total of 29 hospitals across East Tennessee and Southeast
Kentucky, including all Knoxville hospitals. MEDIC is the only U.S. blood center with a Blood Coverage Program covering members'
blood supplier processing fees at any hospital in the country. If an individual donates blood through MEDIC, the processing fees
charged for blood and platelet use are waived for one year for that person and all their IRS dependents at any U.S. hospital if a
transfusion is needed. If 30% of a company’s employees donate blood, then ALL employees and their IRS dependents are provided
with the same protection. For more information, visit MedicBlood.org.
The Provision Center for Proton Therapy is the first facility of its kind in Tennessee and one of three proton centers in the Southeast.
Provision provides the perfect combination of personalized, comprehensive patient care and leading-edge technology, offering one of
the most advanced cancer treatments in the world. Proton therapy is an advanced form of radiation therapy that uses a single beam of
high-energy protons to treat various forms of cancer. Just as with conventional radiation therapy, proton therapy treats tumors by
directing radiation into the tumor site where doses of radiation destroy cancerous cells. For the second year, the Provision CARES
Foundation is generously providing all funding and analysis services for the Eddie Check PSA screenings. Confidential results will be
mailed to each participant.
For more information about Eddie Check, visit our website at EddieCheck.org.
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