St. Joseph Healthcare Hosting Free Prostate Health Screening Checks‏

Bangor, Maine  – St. Joseph Healthcare, in conjunction with Richard Batstone MD and the Maine Coalition to Fight Prostate Cancer, will hold a free prostate health screening check event on Thursday, November 14 at the urology office of Dr. Batstone at St. Joseph Hospital.

Come enjoy healthy snacks, educational materials, giveaways and a raffle for a Hannaford gift card!

The free check includes a digital rectal exam, urine analysis, prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test and International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS). Prostate health checks look for urological issues, enlarged prostate and cancer.

It is common for the prostate to grow larger with age which increases the chance of developing Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia. As per the U.S. National Library of Medicine, 60% of men over the age of 60 and 80% of men over the age of 80 have been diagnosed as BPH patients and is the most common disorder of the prostate gland.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer found in men and strikes one in six American men. The American Cancer Society estimates that each year 1,100 Maine men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and 150 will die of the disease. Prostate cancer presents few symptoms and a screening is the best way to catch the disease early.

Patients must sign-up in advance. To register for the free health screening check, call Dr. Batstone’s urology office at 907-1977. The screening check-ups are limited to the first 30 men who sign up.

Free “Sudden Fiction” Writing Workshop

Free “Sudden Fiction” Writing Workshop Series Begins October 3 at Camden Public Library

The Camden Public Library will offer a free writing workshop series this October. The “Sudden Fiction” writing workshop will begin on Thursday morning, October 3, at 10:00 am. The sessions will be held on six Thursday mornings, October 3 through November 7, 10:00 am to noon in the second floor meeting room. The workshop will be led by writing coach Lee Heffner. Call the library at 236-3440 to register, class size is limited.

“You are a writer!” says Heffner. “We are not encouraged to listen to our creative voice. Yet most people yearn to paint, sing, dance, play an instrument, or tell stories. Aspiring writers can be taught grammar, plot, character, and dialogue structure, but the words must come from within.

“Panic sets in. We wait for inspiration and it doesn’t come. We become discouraged. We say someday. The words are there! And when you have a safety net you will hear them. Turn someday into now!” she says.
Lee Heffner is a writer’s coach, published author, and MFA candidate in Creative Writing. “Experience level is irrelevant for this class,” she says. “Pieces from this class have become short stories and several participants have launched novels. You will find your voice and prove to yourself that you can write without an over-active imagination or a lightning bolt of inspiration.”

Story Sponsor

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Bay Chamber’s Odeon Winter Concert Free!

Photo Credit: Joan Hantz

Bay Chamber’s Odeon Winter Concert set for January 22
Free concert will feature talented local musicians of all ages!

For a wonderful evening of entertainment, come enjoy Bay Chamber’s Odeon Winter Concert on Tuesday, January 22nd at 6:30pm at the Rockport Opera House.  The concert is free and all are welcome to attend.   Odeon Allegro, Symphony and Adult Orchestras, conducted by Deirdre McClure assisted by Gilda Joffe, will perform. The concert is sponsored by Camden National Bank.

The Winter Concert will feature work by Beethoven, Handel and the familiar Scarboro Fair of Simon and Garfunkel fame.  In additional chamber music will be presented by small groups of students who are also members of the Odeon ensembles. Refreshments of cookies and cider will be offered at the intermission. These concerts are a way for the community to honor and celebrate the student musicians from Bay Chamber Music School who have worked all semester to present this repertoire.