Church, officials mobilize to battle prostate cancer

Program set to reach out to at-risk men 40 and older

Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008

The Lighthouse Baptist Church on Middletown Road in Waldorf is doing its part by holding two prostate cancer education and survey programs Aug. 23 and 27. The Charles County Department of Health is co-sponsoring the program that will teach men 40 and older the facts about prostate cancer and the great need to be screened regularly for the disease.

The health department — which offers free prostate cancer screening to underinsured and uninsured men in the county — gave the church a $700 grant to do the program, said the Rev. Calvin Johnson, pastor of Lighthouse Baptist Church.

‘‘We’re trying to reach out to the community,” he said. ‘‘The number of prostate cancer cases [per capita] in Southern Maryland is the highest in the nation. It’s one of those things that can be cured, yet we’ve go so many men who are going to their deaths because they don’t get checkups.”

Johnson’s assessment about the alarming number of prostate cancer cases is right on the money.

According to the National Cancer Institute, 254.7 African-American men per 100,000 people in the county were diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1998 and 2002, compared to 226.8 in Maryland and 248.5 nationwide.

Prostate cancer is diagnosed among African-American men one and a half times more than any other race or ethnicity each year across the United States and more than one in 10 African-American men die from prostate cancer annually, according to the NCI.

The health department has also joined forces with the Bel Alton High School Alumni Association Community Development Corporation and the Maryland Regional Community Network Program to Eliminate Cancer Health Disparities to educate the African-American community about the high risk of contracting prostate cancer. The Bel Alton Cancer Health Disparities program is run out of the newly renovated Bel Alton High School Community Development Center on U.S. 301.

Johnson said that men need to wake up and respond to the call for prostate cancer screening. The church passed out 1,300 fliers in neighborhoods throughout the county and at the St. Charles Towne Center mall in Waldorf, yet only 10 men showed up for the program that was held last Saturday.

‘‘We’re still passing out fliers,” he said. ‘‘We’re trying to get folks to come in and get some information for free.”

Lois Allen, who serves on the church’s community outreach committee, said that the church would like to see between 25 and 50 men show up for the next two programs.

‘‘We would like to get this information out to all men, especially African-Americans,” she said, adding that the church offers health programs throughout the year on a variety of issues, including breast cancer and heart disease.

Johnson said that the church has an annual prostate cancer program that is delivered during a church service, as well.

To sweeten the pot, the church is offering light refreshments during the one-hour programs and is also going to hold a raffle for a $50 gasoline card, Johnson said.

‘‘This is one of many things that we’re going to be doing,” he said.

‘‘We do this [prostate cancer education] every year.”