By LINCOLN DEPRADINE
Officials and volunteers of The Walnut Foundation (TWF), like so many other Canadians, are supposed to be using July and August as a period of summer relaxation and fun.
Instead, TWF – a “dedicated men’s health interest and prostate support group focused on increasing awareness about the heightened risk of prostate cancer among Black men” – is continuing with a series of health clinics that offers free prostate cancer screening.
Up to April, more than 300 men were screened, through blood testing, as a first step to identifying the possibility of prostate cancer and to “catch the cancer – especially the aggressive ones – before it’s too late”, said TWF president Anthony Henry.
“PSA: Detect & Protect” is the title of the clinics.
The clinics are a collaborative effort involving TWF, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and several community service organizations.
Organizers provide free PSA – prostate-specific antigen – blood testing for men 40 years and older.
In the PSA test, a sample of blood is taken and analyzed and an early diagnosis could be made on whether cancer is present.
TWF’s next screening session is this Saturday, July 13, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., at the Imdadul Islamic Centre, 26 Lepage Court, North York.
Henry is encouraging Black men, who have never had a PSA blood test, to take advantage of the free screening. But he would like them to register in advance of attending on Saturday.
“This one is going to be at the mosque and people have to pre-register for this; you can’t just show up,” he emphasized in an interview with Share.
“The hospital has to book staff; they can’t just send resources off willy-nilly if nobody is going to show up. So, they need commitment upfront for this one.”
Registration information is available by calling 416-568-7442 or 905-799-2759.
Research indicates that Black men may be genetically predisposed to prostate cancer, have a higher risk of developing the cancer, and are more likely to experience more severe disease at a younger age.
TWF, a not-for-profit organization established in 2007, aims to increase awareness in the Black community about prostate cancer. Early detection, members say, saves lives.
The foundation, which also provides information about diagnosis, treatment and follow-up practices, has released statistics showing that a Black male is diagnosed with prostate cancer “every 13 seconds”; that “one in six Black men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer” and that “Black men are two times more likely to die from prostate cancer than other populations”.
As well, reports are that prostate cancer accounts for one in five male cancers in Canada, however Black men have three times the risks of having more aggressive disease than Caucasians.
Henry told Share that, following Saturday, TWF plans to hold another health clinic this month, on July 20 at Brampton City Hall.
“Brampton is a big one. There’s a big community health fair going on that day in Brampton,” said Henry.
“Even though we’ve kind of taken the summer off, in terms of meetings, there are still activities going on to meet our obligations like holding the screening, which are continuing.”
On June 1, TWF held its “10th Annual Walk-the-Path Walkathon”, with a fundraising target set at $100,000.
“Most of our funding comes from this walkathon. That’s where our base money comes from. The money will be allocated for awareness-building in the community around prostate cancer,” Henry said.
TWF produced about 13 educational videos last year. Henry said the foundation wants to do more videos this year, to maintain the health clinics, and also to set aside resources for the foundation’s support groups and community outreach.
The 10-kilometre walkathon, which followed a path through the Etobicoke Creek Trail at 30 Loafers Lake Lane, was attended by more than 420 people, including Brampton’s Mayor Patrick Brown and other Ontario politicians.
“That went very well and we’re pretty close to the target. We’re at approximately $87,000,” said Henry, a financial advisor by profession.
“We try to raise as much as possible by the event day. Then, the second part of the campaign is to follow up with people and to get those commitments of money from them by the end of the summer. We’re accepting donations until August 31.”
