Packie Bonner, Italia '90 hero and Power of Prevention ambassador, and HP employees Barry O'Donnell, Greg Skelton, Aidan Lawrence, Aidan Griffin and Noel Farrell launch the cancer screening programme
For the first time in Ireland, computer giant HP is to offer free onsite male cancer (prostate and testicular) screening and risk assessments for all employees and their families.
The screening is part of a collaboration between HP, Aviva Health and the Mater Private Hospital in Dublin.
The Power of Prevention is a global health initiative that has the support of ex-footballer Packie Bonner and is now targeting all cancer types. This initiative follows the success of the award-winning Power of Pink, a pilot programme that provided onsite breast cancer screening to all HP employees and their families in 2011.
As part of the programme, HP employees and their families will be given the opportunity to complete a risk assessment form that will allow the Mater Private Hospital to identify those who will need to undergo a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test and/or a Digital Rectal Exam (DRE).
These tests will be carried out onsite in HP, and additional support and advice will be made available throughout the process for any employee who may be affected by the disease.
Employees with high risk factors will be able to avail of follow up with specialist consultant urologists and additional tests if necessary.
Following the April male cancer programme, HP Ireland will offer all employees and their families free screening for melanoma in June. Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer, but if diagnosed early, it is almost 100pc curable.
“We are steadfast in our commitment to the health and well-being of our employees, especially men who are often too embarrassed to talk about health issues or act quickly to address them,” HP Ireland managing director Martin Murphy explained.
“Prostate cancer is the most frequent cancer in men, after non-melanoma skin cancer, and our initiative aims to make men more aware of the cancers that can affect them, and ultimately speed up the discovery process,” Murphy added.
