A free prostate screening event will be held on November 16, from 10 am to 2 pm, hosted by Union Tabernacle Baptist Church, at 900 Adderton Street. Partnering churches include Friendship Baptist Church and Americus Holiness Deliverance. Other partnering organizations include Morehouse School of Medicine, Phoebe, Samaritan Clinic, and others.

The event is called Hens and Haircuts, since men who participate will receive free haircuts and a chicken. Men 40 years old and above are eligible.

W. Frank Wilson, a prostate cancer survivor, shared his experiences with prostate cancer in order to promote awareness and to encourage screening. He told how he first found out he had cancer. “In 2018 I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and we didn’t do anything about it. They did what they call watchful surveillance, and every 90 days, I had to take a PSA test.”

Wilson told how the test alerted his caregiver to potential danger. “In late 2019, they discovered that my numbers had grown to a point that we needed to do something about it.”

He reviewed his options. “One of the options was total removing of the prostate. . . I was not ready to do that, and so I elected to have 25 straight days of radiation, and six months of chemotherapy.”

Wilson expressed his gratitude for his recovery. “Here we are in 2024, and I’m still around. I don’t have any after-affects of the prostate cancer, and so, because of that history, Phoebe chose me to kind of become a spokesman.” Wilson told how he was inspired to spread the word about screening, making an appearance on television and billboards.

Wilson stated he became a part of Elevation Project, which seeks to promote prostate cancer awareness, another organization that is partnering to hold Hens and Haircuts. Wilson told how he joined Elevation Project with the goal to become an educator and inspiration to other men to keep a check on their prostates, enabling them to be around for their families.

Wilson noted that prostate cancer was particularly pronounced among African-American men. “Prostate cancer runs very rampant among African American men, and many men are reluctant to get checked because of the stigma with the digital rectal exam, but they don’t do that anymore.” He told how the procedure had changed. “It’s strictly done with blood [tests].”

For Wilson, even the older method is preferable to an embalmer’s needle. He considers the reluctance of men to go to the doctor to be a growing concern, which has led to the screenings being held at local churches. Wilson listed Dougherty County, Terrell County, and Calhoun County as all locations they had already held screenings.

Wilson stressed that cost shouldn’t be an issue. “Don’t let the lack of insurance be a hindrance to come in and get these screenings, because we can work around insurance issues.”

Marcus Johnson, head of Community Relations for Phoebe Sumter Medical Center, also gave details. He told how every three years Phoebe Sumter does a community health needs assessment, and identifying cancers was a key part of that assessment. “This falls right in line with our protocols and the things that we want to do in terms of affecting lifestyles in the community, and supporting healthy lifestyles in the community.” Johnson told how supporting prostate cancer screenings was also a part of their healthy Sumter Initiative.

Darrell Sabbs is another promoter of screenings. He told that while there had been previous efforts to do prostate screenings, this was the first time they had partnered with churches and Morehouse School of Medicine. “You got the City of Americus, you got your health system, you got your churches, and you got Morehouse School of Medicine. Those are some real strong partners, and hopefully partners that the community trust.”

Sabbs told how having a regular doctor was an issue for many men. “A lot of men don’t. Let’s be honest.” He contrasted the situation, telling how mothers encouraged their daughters to have a doctor. “But men don’t really drive men like that.” Sabbs told how the event was an opportunity not only for men to get screenings, but to encourage them to get regular doctor’s visits.