By Justin Sanchez

The News staff writer

Prostate cancer survivor Eli Stelly is doing everything he can to encourage people to get a free prostate screening for men with limited income.

Julie Rogers is hosting the screenings from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Sept. 8, Lamar State College-Port Arthur’s Carl Parker Center.

Stelly has been hitting up local businesses, informing them of the upcoming event. He said his focus is on small businesses this time around because many of them can’t afford medical insurance.

“I put out these pamphlets in English, Spanish and Vietnamese for these small shops that can’t afford to get medical insurance,” he said. “We are trying to publicize it to people that can’t afford it and need screening, and there are a lot of them.”

Stelly partially faults medical insurance for being too costly.

“Medical insurance in this country is too high and something needs to be done,” he said. “There are so many people that don’t have insurance and can’t afford to go to the doctor.”

A cancer survivor himself, Stelly knows all too well how important it is to catch it before it’s too late.

“I caught it in time and I want everyone else to,” he said. “I was 71-years-old when I had it, but I was checking for it regularly.”

The American Cancer Society says the recommended age to start getting prostate screenings is 40 for black males, and 45 for other races.

Although prostate cancer doesn’t typically affect younger people, Stelly says if it runs in the family, getting a check up sooner rather than later, is recommended.

“If your dad had prostate cancer, I would check every two or three years,” he said. “The American Cancer Society says to check at 40, but if it runs in the family, I would surely check it sooner.”

Stelly participates in a program called “Man to Man,” to help those with prostate cancer.

“I belong to an organization called ‘Man to Man,’” he said. “If someone has prostate cancer and doesn’t know what to do, they can call the Gift of Life which will refer them to me. I have literature and can tell them some options they have, but I’m not a doctor.”

Stelly said one of his main goals is to get people to catch the cancer in time.

“If they catch it in time, they can still live a normal life,” he said. “If they’re too late, it could be death.”

Stelly is also active with a prostate cancer support group.

“I joined a prostate cancer support group that was formed about three years ago and Julie Rogers started sponsoring it when they saw how well it was going,” Stelly said. “The women’s breast cancer support group is way ahead of us, but we’re trying to catch up to them.”

With meetings in Beaumont, Stelly is hoping the organization one day expands to Port Arthur.

“I have a lot of friends that should go to the meetings, but don’t because it’s in Beaumont,” he said. “We need one in Port Arthur.”

Stelly recently lost his 52-year-old son in a battle with brain cancer, which he says pushes him even harder to stop cancer before it’s too late.

“It’s hard to lose a kid. It’s the hardest thing ever,” he said. “It pushes me even harder to stop cancer.”

For more information on the free prostate screenings, call 877-720-4438.