PHEN Joins Forces with Chicago Clergy, Healthcare Providers, Policymakers, and Survivors to Address the Prostate Cancer Disparity for Black Men
The Prostate Health Education Network (PHEN) is joining forces with healthcare providers, policymakers, church leaders, and prostate cancer survivors across Chicago, Illinois, for its Prostate Cancer Disparity Rally, starting on August 1st through the end of the month. The Chicago Rally will include a hybrid (in-person and virtual) town hall meeting on August 14th, in Chicago, in which PHEN Survivor Network Members and Chicago leaders will participate in a panel discussion. Their discussions will revolve around increasing early detection screening and emphasizing innovative prostate cancer treatments and the importance of clinical trial participation for Black men, to help eliminate this disparity.
“Prostate cancer is a crisis within Black communities where men suffer a death rate twice that of all other men,” said PHEN President and Founder Thomas A. Farrington. “We must raise knowledge and awareness and mobilize action to eliminate this crisis. This is PHEN’s mission, which we push forward through our Disparity Rally here in Chicago and throughout the country.”
As part of its radio campaign, PHEN is purchasing advertisements on Chicago radio stations WVAZ, WGBR, and WVON, which will air recorded education and awareness messages voiced by these prominent Chicago leaders. The messages, which will also be distributed on social media, stress the need to increase prostate cancer education and awareness for African American men who are 70% more likely to receive a prostate cancer diagnosis than all other men and more than twice as likely to die from the disease.
Some of the leaders who have signed on to lend their voices to support PHEN’s Chicago Prostate Cancer Disparity Rally include:
- Reverend Dr. Brad Braxton, President and Professor of Public Theology at the Chicago Theological Seminary
- Reverend Dr. Patrick Daymond, Senior Pastor at the Covenant United Church of Christ
- Reverend Dr. Otis Moss III, Senior Pastor at the Trinity United Church of Christ
- Reverend Dr. Reginald W. Williams, Jr., Senior Pastor at the First Baptist Church of University Park
- Walter M. Stadler, Fred C. Buffet Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean of Clinical Science Research at The University of Chicago
- Adam Murphy, Professor of Health Equity Research in Urology at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine
PHEN’s Prostate Cancer Disparity Rally first began in 2021 and has since been conducted in 28 cities in 16 states using social media, radio, virtual town hall meetings, and community activities. The Rally has reached more than 20 million people over the past three years.
