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John McEnroe promotes PSA test for 40-year-old men

Updated: 2009-08-31 20:00:04 CST Category: Prostate

by Francis Ma

A former out-spoken tennis star is using his infamous boisterous voice to promote a health initiative aimed at making sure men of a certain age get a PSA test.

John McEnroe has been in a media blitz lately, appearing on various television programs to talk about the U.S. open, but to also discuss his father's health. His father was diagnosed with prostate cancer a couple of years ago and now McEnroe is urging men to follow in his footsteps and get tested.

"It's a simple blood test, which shouldn't be a big deal for us guys," McEnroe said on CBS' The Early Show recently.

He was also on Sean Hannity's show on Fox News, where the commentator told the McEnroe that prostate cancer ran in his family as well.

"You should be tested obviously, because the odds go up greatly for both of us: family members or relatives," McEnroe told Hannity. "But here I am, I'd like to think a healthy individual. They're looking for 50-year-olds. So that cut it down originally, because that was the guideline to get a PSA test."

American Neurological Association has changed its guidelines to say that 40-year-old men should start getting regular PSA tests.

Related Articles from Private MD:

• Ex-NFL player urges men to get prostate test
  
• PSA testing important for high-risk patients
  
• New methods improve ability to predict return of prostate cancer
  
• Possible new therapy for prostate cancer discovered
  
• American Urological Association recommends PSA tests at age 40
  

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