Free prostate cancer screenings held at Miller Park

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- It looked like the Brewers Opening Day as men lined up as early as 4 a.m. outside Miller Park, but they weren't there to see a baseball game.

"The line is kind of fun talking with everyone else and hearing their stories about why everybody`s here is kind of entertaining actually," says Mark Ward as he waited in line.

FOX6 teamed up with Froedtert and the Brewers to hold the 6th Free Prostate Cancer Screenings at Miller Park.

The goal is to save lives through early detection.

"If you wait until there are symptoms with this disease it`s incurable. So only through early detection do we have some hope of avoiding death from disease in men whose cancer is really aggressive," says Prostate Cancer Specialist Dr. William See.

1 in 6 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Bob Fitzgerald knows this first-hand as he is a prostate cancer survivor.

He now volunteers at the event to provide support to others.

"When you find out that you have cancer it hits you like a ton of bricks. The shock is just overwhelming," says Fitzgerald.

But there was an added incentive to attend, as the first 250 men got a voucher for 2 free Brewers tickets.

"Went through all of the exams and I have tickets now to the Brewers games," says Curt Kubert as he received his ticket vouchers.

Other men were encouraged to go by their other half.

"He was slipping on these exams they`re really important and I said hey you`re getting out of bed we`re going down there you`re getting the exam and we`re getting the 2 free Brewers tickets," says Karen Ward as she waited in line with her husband.

Although it's not as much fun as a baseball game, there was plenty of camaraderie and a sense of pride among these men taking care of their health.

The Free Prostate Cancer Screenings went from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 29th at Miller Park.

Men 55 and older should get a prostate cancer test.

African-American men and men with a family history of prostate cancer are encouraged to begin getting prostate cancer screenings at the age of 40.