A community service club in Flintshire has completed a successful prostate cancer awareness campaign giving away £6,000 worth of PSA screening tests.  

The Flint and District Lions Club is a group of individuals from the local communities who meet twice a month at Flint Golf Club on the first and third Wednesdays at 7pm. 

They are affiliated with the international Lions Club organisation, a world wide organisation of service clubs founded in Chicago in 1917.

The Flint group initially set out to launch their online application for PSA screening tests on October 1, however as interest nationwide in PSA testing increased dramatically after the death of BBC journalist Bill Turnbull, they chose to launch early on September 13. 

The group had a quota of 250 free tests on offer which incurred a cost of £6,750 for the club. 

From September 13-28, there were 58 applications received and by October 5, the full quota of 250 had been taken up. 

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Despite all the free tests being taken up the club is still welcoming applications to be made via the clubs' website but payment of £26.99 is now required.

David Gregory, club President, said club members were glad that the full quota had been taken up but were surprised that it had been achieved so quickly.

According to a spokesperson for the club: "An indication of the “Turnbull effect” can be seen in that only 150 applied over an eight-week period last year!

"We have funds reserved for a repeat exercise in 2023 but whether we can continue beyond then will depend on acquiring sufficient funding."

The club held its first campaign in October 2016, which initially took the form of a phlebotomist-led clinic in which 300 men attended in person.

The exercise was repeated in 2017, 2018 and 2019 with similar numbers however the pandemic prevented a clinic taking place in 2020.

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In 2021 the club utilised new at-home testing to allow the campaign to operate and this has been continued this year. 

A representative from the group said: "We have found that many are unaware of the ability for a test to be taken.

"In our experience, many have come forward because our campaigns have partly targeted wives and partners (e.g. posters in ladies' hairdressers)."

"In our first five campaigns, we learnt that at least 50 men received “red warning letters” urging them to take urgent medical advice. A similar number received 'amber early warning letters'.

"We believe we may have saved the lives of most of those men."

The club would like to emphasize that despite the full quota of free tests being taken up applications can still be made here, for a payment of £26.99.