'It's very important': Duke Cancer Center in Durham offers free health screenings

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Dozens of men lined up at the Duke Cancer Center's Croasdaile facility in Durham Sunday for free health screenings. Many were greeted by Bradley Long of the Men's Health Council, who thanked them for their proactive decision.

"Early detection is a lot of times, the difference between life and death. For me, I've always gone to the doctor but coming here has helped me find out some things I might not have detected," said Long.

Health professionals helped the men learn early if they had silent, potentially fatal conditions that have gone untreated, in some cases, for years.

"High blood pressure and diabetes, those things go together. We're checking for that, as well," said Dr. Angelo Moore. "When it comes to hypertension, a lot of people are walking around hypertense and don't know it. Last year, over 50% of the men who came here had hypertension, didn't know it."

Long said too many men wait until the last minute to go to the doctor or don't go unless something is wrong with them.

"So I think it's very important that we as Black men take a role, being proactive a lot of times when it comes with our health," he said.

Dr. Moore said while some consider exams for prostate cancer uncomfortable or invasive, "a couple of seconds of discomfort is worth your life."

"Women go through discomfort the entire time. They have childbirth, a lot more pain than what the men have to go through," he said. "So even if you're uncomfortable with the digital rectal exam, at a minimum you should get the blood test."

Your county health department's clinic or a primary care doctor can provide answers to health care questions you may have as well as recommendations for treatment options, if needed.