Clell Hoffman, a prostate cancer survivor and founder of a local awareness group, feels frustration and anger over a government preventive medicine panel’s criticism of standard prostate screening.

Now, with half as many men signing up for free prostate screenings at The Summit this week than in past years, Hoffman, 75, fears that men with curable prostate cancer are being encouraged to skip the 15-minute exam and blood draw that saved his life when he was 62.

In the crosshairs is the prostate-specific antigen, or PSA test that measures the blood level of a protein produced by the prostate gland. The higher a man’s PSA level, the more likely it is that he has prostate cancer.

“There’s no question that all this negative garbage about PSA tests is having an impact and it is so wrong,” he said. “There’s the assumption that the PSA test is not always accurate and that’s true. But the problem is that’s the only test we have.”

The American Urological Association agrees with him on the value of PSA testing in a statement disagreeing with the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s draft recommendations. The association said that, when interpreted appropriately, the PSA test provides important information in the diagnosis, staging or risk assessment and monitoring of prostate cancer patients.

“Until there is a better widespread test for this potentially devastating disease, the task force —by disparaging this test — is doing a great disservice to the men worldwide who may benefit from the PSA test,” the statement said.

The American Cancer Society recommends that men make an informed decision with their doctor about testing, saying research has not yet proven if potential benefits of testing outweigh harms of testing and treatment.

Critics point out that the high rate of 40 percent false positives leads to anxiety, unnecessary biopsies with potential complications such as infections and unnecessary treatment of slow-growing tumors.

Hoffman said their arguments ignore the 60 percent true positives that save lives of men by finding and treating aggressive cancers at an early stage.

“I’m a perfect example,” he said. “I had no symptoms whatever regarding prostate problems. They found prostate cancer through screening and I had an extremely aggressive type of cancer.”

He had just a week to make a decision about treatment, while most patients have a couple of months to mull over their options since many forms of prostate cancer grow very slowly. Sometimes patients, especially older men, have the option of watchful waiting with no treatment.

In his case, Hoffman said his PSA was always on the high side in tests over 10 years, but it suddenly jumped from a 6 to a 7. He had two biopsies in previous years and no cancer was found, but he decided to go to his urologist for another biopsy and that decision saved his life.

His experiences before and after surgery and treatment led to his involvement in founding the Prostate Cancer Awareness organization. Hoffman said it started with an acquaintance who found out he was scheduled for prostate surgery.

“He called me and wanted to know if there was anything he could do for me, if I had any questions or needed any support,” he recalled. “He was a long-haul trucker and he called me everyday in the hospital from wherever he was. It dawned on me that that kind of support meant so much to me and we needed to do something to provide that same kind of support for men if they have questions.”

The organization was formed and incorporated as a nonprofit to raise awareness and provide support groups. About 12 years ago the group got involved in prostate cancer awareness monthly free screenings sponsored by Kalispell Regional Medical Center.

Hoffman remembers a former local urologist asked for their help so he stuck his neck out that first year to guarantee $1,000 to help with expenses.

“After that, we picked up the whole cost every year,” he said. “The golf tournament has proved to be very successful, with the maximum number of golfers every year.”

Hoffman stressed that Kalispell Regional Healthcare provides all sorts of help such as the space at The Summit and a rock-bottom price for the PSA tests. Local urologists, Drs. Gregory Adams, John Andenoro, Amy McKerrow and John Mercer, volunteer their services for the digital rectal exams.

After years of building up awareness of the need for men between 40 and 75 to get screenings, Hoffman was disappointed to see fewer men taking advantage of the first two this year. He implores men to call 751-4500 for appointments for the Sept. 29 screening scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon at the Columbia Falls Clinic next to Super 1 Foods.

“The thing about prostate cancer that is so frustrating to me is that prostate cancer is the one cancer that we can almost totally eliminate deaths,” he said. “If men were screened earlier, we could all but eliminate prostate cancer deaths.”

Up until this year, prostate cancer was the most widespread of all cancers. This year, lung cancer surpassed prostate cancer with 500 more patients nationwide.

Hoffman attributes the decrease to fewer men getting screened, finding their cancer and being counted as patients.

“And therefore the deaths are going to go up,” he said.

The National Cancer Institutes predicts that in 2012 more than 240,000 men will receive a diagnosis and more than 28,000 will die from prostate cancer.

According to Hoffman, men who come for the free screening usually wait only 15 to 20 minutes and receive a report in the mail within a week and a half to two weeks. The report tells them what was found and may suggest they see their family doctor or urologist, depending on the results.

Although privacy laws forbid disclosure of results in these screenings, Hoffman knows lives have been saved by phone calls he has received from grateful patients and support groups after the screenings.

“Usually after the screening we’ll have a support meeting and invariably we’ll have 10 to 20 men come who, through the screening, found out they have a problem,” he said. “We also have guys who call us and say ‘Thanks for the free screening. If you hadn’t done it, I probably wouldn’t have been screened.’”

While some PSA tests may prove false positives, Hoffman said he doesn’t worry about that. He said they can live with that and it leaves in a few days.

“But what about the men’s lives we save,” he asked. “Not having a PSA test can kill. It does and it will.”

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.