If you watched Major League Baseball on Father’s Day, you saw many of the players with blue wristbands. They also wore blue hats, regardless of their team’s color scheme, and had blue gloves and even blue bats — all in an effort to raise awareness of prostate cancer.

According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, one in nine men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime.

According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, one man dies from prostate cancer every 18 minutes and more than 29,000 men will die from prostate cancer this year.

The Prostate Cancer Foundation also recommends getting a cancer screening in your early 40s if there is a history of prostate, ovarian, breast, colon or pancreatic cancer in your family. Men of African ancestry are urged to start getting screens around 45 years old. African American men have a greater risk of developing prostate cancer, according to the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

If there aren’t any other risk factors, the Prostate Cancer Foundation recommends getting screened starting at age 50.

Early detection is key in fighting cancer. The Prostate Cancer Foundation says that the earlier cancer is found, the greater the likelihood it can be treated successfully. Prostate cancer is highly treatable but the treatments’ success depends on early detection. There are now tests, the Prostate Cancer Foundation says, that can show the presence of cancer before symptoms appear.

Once you get to around 70 years old, though, doctors no longer recommend screenings for prostate cancer. Many cases of prostate cancer are slow-moving and treatments can be taxing, says the Prostate Cancer Foundation. 

Screening can be done through what is known as the PSA test, which can be done through a blood test. PSA, or prostate specific antigen, is a protein produced by the prostate that is released in small amounts into the bloodstream. A higher level of PSA in the blood could be the result of a problem prostate gland, though that is not the only cause for a higher PSA level in the blood. PSA ranges can vary, and the PSA test is part of the prostate screening process.

But as big leaguers went to bat last weekend, and will all month to bring awareness to prostate cancer, don’t watch the pitch go by. If you’re of that range and have other risk factors, go take a swing at getting screened. Don’t wait for prostate cancer to strike you out.