(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) -- In honor of Father’s Day, Spanish-speaking health-care professionals from UC Davis Cancer Center will conduct free prostate cancer screenings at the Madison Migrant Center near Woodland. Health-care workers hope to find men with undiagnosed prostate cancer who can benefit from free cancer treatment through a state-funded program known as IMPACT. The first-of-its-kind event will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 15.
“On Father’s Day weekend, we want to honor these men who labor so hard to provide for their families by offering them something that may save their lives — free prostate cancer screening,� says Julie Darr, UC Davis IMPACT coordinator.
A featured speaker at the event will be Jose Jiménez, a former farm worker whose prostate cancer was detected early and cured thanks to IMPACT (Improving Access, Counseling and Treatment for Californians with Prostate Cancer).
JimĂ©nez, 64, arrived in California from his birthplace, EncarnaciĂłn de DĂas in Jalisco, Mexico, almost half a century ago. He labored in the garlic, sugar beet and tomato fields around Gilroy in his youth, gradually working his way up the economic ladder. Eight years ago he and his wife, Amparo, 61, were able to buy a brand-new, three-bedroom, two-bath home in Fair Oaks. Last year the couple took a rare trip, their first visit to Mexico in 40 years. JimĂ©nez, recently retired from an 11-year career with a national discount chain, was looking forward to many more years of leisure. He envisioned long hours tending his backyard pepper plants, fruit trees and giant dahlias, visiting with his four adult children, and playing with his five grandchildren.
But a diagnosis of prostate cancer in February threatened all of that. A year from Medicare eligibility, without any health insurance, Jiménez had no way to pay for the prostate cancer surgery his doctors said he needed. On a monthly income of $700 from Social Security, he couldn’t afford $400 a month for health insurance. As a homeowner, he didn’t qualify for public assistance. With his diminished income after retirement, he couldn’t even borrow against his home equity.
“They told me the surgery would cost thousands of dollars,� he says. “We didn’t have the money.�
Then the couple learned about IMPACT through a friend of Amparo’s. The program provides free treatment for uninsured low-income men with prostate cancer statewide. UC Davis Cancer Center is developing the program in a 24-county area of northern and central California, including Sacramento.
On March 27 Jiménez underwent prostate cancer surgery at UC Davis Medical Center. Ralph deVere White, professor and chair of urology at UC Davis School of Medicine and director of the UC Davis Cancer Center, was his surgeon.
The surgery was a success, and because Jiménez’s cancer was caught early, he needs no other treatment.
“Men think they don’t get sick,� Jiménez says. “They want to be macho men. But after 50 years old, they need to start doing the check-up for prostate cancer. They need to get it before it is too late. And with the IMPACT program, lack of money isn’t a problem.�
Learn more about the UC Davis Cancer Center IMPACT program by calling (916) 734-5793.