AHN offering free screenings for variety of cancers at sites in Wexford, Butler

Allegheny Health Network will be conducting free cancer screenings at its facilities in Wexford and Butler.

Screening for breast, lung, skin and prostate cancer will be conducted Aug. 21 at the AHN Cancer Institute on Hollywood Drive in Butler.

Screenings for breast and lung cancer will take place at AHN’s Wexford Health & Wellness Pavilion, 12311 Perry Highway in Wexford.

Health network officials say screening increases the chances that cancer will be caught at its earliest stages, when it is most curable.

“In this time of the covid-19 pandemic, we are very concerned that many people have missed regular cancer screenings due to fears of contracting the virus in a health care setting,” said Dr. David Bartlett, who chair’s AHN’s Cancer Institute.

Bartlett said the screenings are “important tests that can help us detect early-stage cancers.”

People receiving the screening need not be health network patients and no insurance or payment is required.

Registration is required for the screenings by calling 412-359-6665. The deadline to sign up is Aug. 6.

Health officials recommend screenings for the following people:

• Breast cancer: women 40 and older

• Cervical cancer: Women ages 21 to 65

• Colorectal cancers: People 50 and older

• Head and neck cancers: People 18 and older

• Lung cancer: People age 50 and older with a history of smoking

• Prostate cancer: People 45 and older

• Skin cancer: People 18 and older

The American Cancer Society urges all people to follow recommendations for regular cancer screenings to help find and treat pre-cancers and cancers early, before they have a chance to spread. In addition to screenings, the organization stresses the importance of taking steps to prevent cancer, including not smoking, exercising, staying at a healthy weight, following a healthy diet and limiting alcohol consumption.