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It seems like such a random amount of time — 18 minutes — just a little over 1,000 seconds.

In that span time of time one American man dies from prostate cancer.

Last year, some 30,000 American men died from the disease; about 83 men a day.

And how many of those deaths could have been avoided?

That's a frustrating question for those who work in the field because detection is fairly simple. The screening is a two-step process involving a blood test and digital rectal exam. If anything is amiss, a biopsy would be done to know for sure.

It's the second part that's the cause of why men don't get screened.

"We understand that it's uncomfortable and that it's embarrassing, but it takes less than 10 seconds," said Helen Baldwin, director of the Arkansas Prostate Cancer Foundation. "Men can literally die from embarrassment."

In 2005, more than 1,000 screenings were performed around the state via the foundation's mobile screening vehicle.

"We have a 31-foot RV that we use as a mobile exam unit," Baldwin explained. "To the extent that out resources will allow it, if we're invited, we'll go all over the state" not only for screenings, but also for educational presentations.

For reasons that are still unclear, men in southeast Arkansas and in the Delta are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer. But the problem is statewide. In Arkansas, about 2,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and more than 300 men will die from it this year.

Nationally, the numbers are more depressing. Of new cancer cases, one-third are prostate cancer diagnoses. It is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in the country. Every nine minutes, four new cases are diagnosed. A man is more likely to get prostate cancer than a woman is to get breast cancer.

The foundation was founded in 2000; Baptist Health, Lamar Outdoor Advertising and North Point Automotive are among the corporate partners. Other funding comes from the state legislature, private supporters and grants.

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