BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Prostate cancer strikes thousands of men every year, but going out and getting tested can very well be the difference between life and death. For that reason, WJZ is a proud sponsor of the 6th Annual Great Prostate Cancer Challenge.

Tim Williams has more on this year’s event.

It’s a sad but unnecessary truth: this year alone, more than 28,000 men will die from prostate cancer. One in six men are affected by in their lifetime. But there are local efforts underway to stop those numbers in their tracks. For the sixth straight year, WJZ has joined Chesapeake Urology, The Baltimore Sun, Magic 95.9 and Towson University for the Great Prostate Cancer Challenge 5K race and one mile walk to raise funds for prostate cancer research, awareness and free screenings for men in the Baltimore community.

“The message is 30,000 men will die of prostate cancer and many of those men, most of those men, if they were to have been found early, if they would have been screened early, they had a greater chance of being cured,” said Dr. Sandford Siegel, Chesapeake Urology.

This is one in a series of awareness efforts throughout the year. Just last month, free screenings at a West Baltimore church drew hundreds. Men 40 and older are encouraged to get checked yearly because a man dies every 18 minutes from the disease.

Survivors say the test is simple and the peace of mind is invaluable.

“Had some damage but it’s been corrected. But my point is that if you catch it in time, it’s very, very curable,” said prostate cancer survivor Phil Shulka.

“My dad also was a prostate cancer survivor so those are signs that, for men who have prostate cancer in their family, it’s important to get checked,” said prostate cancer survivor Robert Ginyard.

And you don’t have to wait until next year to do it.

As part of our continuing community commitment, WJZ is a proud sponsor of the Great Prostate Challenge.