PSA testing day at the Crown Oil Arena

PSA testing day at the Crown Oil Arena

Nearly 200 men took part in a PSA testing day, held at the Crown Oil Arena before Rochdale's League One fixture against Fleetwood Town on Saturday (19 January 2019).

To be precise, 197 people turned out to be tested at the event, organised in conjunction with the Barry Kilby Prostate Cancer Appeal. A PSA test measures the amount of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in blood.

It’s normal to have a small amount of PSA in your blood, and the amount rises as you get older and your prostate gets bigger, according to Prostrate Cancer UK. A raised PSA level may suggest a problem with your prostate, but not necessarily cancer.

Dale Manager Keith Hill, the Club’s Chief Executive David Bottomley as well as representatives from the Dale Supporters Trust were amongst those to get tested.

Associate Director John Smallwood, who was the driving force behind bringing the testing day to the Crown Oil Arena, commented: "I would like to say a warm thank you to the staff from the Barry Kilby Prostate Cancer Appeal, to the medical staff on the day and to the volunteers from the East Lancs Prostate Cancer Support Group. They were a well organised and good humoured team who looked after us very well.

"I would also like to express thanks to the Dale Supporters Trust who supported the event from its announcement, helped with queue control on the day and provided a good deal of background information regarding prostate cancer on their website.

"The turn-out was above expectation and the club are pleased that the messages, sent out through several different channels, encouraged men to come and be tested. I spoke to some of those attending and there were a good number of Dale fans, but also residents of Rochdale and a few from Preston and Fleetwood. Thank you to the 197 for taking the opportunity to be tested.”