Bishop Michael F. Jones, Friendly Temple Church senior pastor, is inviting men to “Hyped For Health” on June 9, 2024, at his church to “prioritize health and empower yourself.”
June is Men’s Health Month and Friendly Temple Baptist Church is partnering with The Empowerment Network (TEN) as hosts of “Hyped For Health: A Men’s Prostate Cancer Awareness and Testing Initiative.”
The free event is 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday June 9, 2024, at Friendly Temple Baptist Church, 5515 Dr. Martin Luther King Drive.
A recent Cleveland Clinic survey of more than 500 American men ages 18-70 about their use of healthcare resources found that just 60% of men get annual physicals and 40% only see a doctor when they feel it is essential for a serious medical condition.
Bishop Michael F. Jones, Sr., Friendly Temple senior pastor, calls Hyped, “a valuable opportunity to learn about the latest advancements in prostate cancer prevention and early detection.”
“Take advantage of this chance to prioritize your health and empower yourself.”
In a 2022 study by the Journal of Primary Care and Community health entitled “The Black Church and Public Health: A Key Partnership”, researchers wrote, “Previous research has linked regular church attendance to healthy behavior such as blood pressure screening, dental cleanings, and pap smears.
“A review of church-based health interventions also revealed that faith-based health promotion programs can be effective, particularly regarding heart health, dietary improvement, weight loss, as well as improving cancer knowledge and increasing cancer screening rates.”
The report dealt with information from 2020-22, at the height of the pandemic, and it concluded “Church organizational structure and leaders position the Black church as a relevant entity to reach the target population.”
“Black pastors acknowledge their influential role in promoting and modeling healthy behavior as well as the importance of faith-based programs in improving health among congregants. For instance, diabetes prevention programs have been translated to faith-settings and have been proven to be successful in achieving weight loss and lowering fasting glucose levels among Black congregants.”
Throughout June, TEN will promote awareness activities to encourage men to focus on their health – for themselves and their families by pledging to make a doctor’s appointment, get a physical exam, and get a prostate screening. The month will feature a radio campaign, television interviews, and community health fairs.
TEN Founder and President Mellve Shahid Sr., a 17-year prostate cancer survivor, said “through our journey with this disease, we understand the meaning of being healthy and staying healthy.”
We understand that health is proactive, and cancer is reactive; that good health is encouraging and being unhealthy is discouraging on all levels.”
According to Zero Prostate Cancer, a Black man is diagnosed with prostate cancer every 13 minutes, and 17 Black men die from the disease every day.
That’s due in part to the fact that Black men are 75% less likely to have health insurance than white men, according to the National Institutes of Health. So, Black men are less likely to receive timely and effective treatment compared to white men, which leads to worse outcomes.
Screening is key
The good news is prostate cancer screening can be done during medical check-ups with Prostate-Specific Antigen test, which can detect cancer markers in the blood before symptoms are present. However, the PSA screening test isn’t perfect, and can sometimes generate false positives.
The United States Preventive Services Task Force, which helps establish standards for screening tests, recommends people ages 55 to 69 talk extensively with their medical doctor before choosing to be screened for prostate cancer. The task force advises that men over age 70 should not take the PSA test.
Organizations like TEN, the Black Men’s Health Initiative and the African American Prostate Cancer Coalition are working to educate Black men about the importance of regular screenings and early detection.
Many Black churches are also becoming more involved in bringing mental health information to congregations.
Beltway Church of Christ in near Washington D.C. in suburban Maryland recently hosted a Community Mental Health Awareness Day.
“It was necessary to have this particular event now because we’re just fully getting out of COVID, and some people are still dealing with things that hadn’t been dealt with,” Le’Andre Johnson, minister at Beltway Church of Christ, told The Washington Informer.
Keynote speaker, Dr. Bruce McClure, a licensed counselor and minister at Prince George’s Church of Christ said, “It’s the same gospel, but how do we adapt it to mental health, physical health, behavioral, financial, relational.”
The event emphasized combating mental health challenges with therapy, wellness practices such as exercise and faith-based work.
For more information on “Hyped For Health, call (314) 385-0998, or visit TenStl.org.