Prostate Cancer Awareness Month Event Brings Screenings to the Community

Story and Photos by Gabrielle Cromwell Data News Weekly Contributor

For men’s Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, local doctors, survivors, and community leaders educated the community at Abundant Life Tabernacle to raise awareness for Prostate Cancer in the African American community. Black men are two times more likely to die from Prostate Cancer than White men. The event offered free health screenings and a men’s health panel on Sept. 6th, 2025, where Bishop Tyrone G. Jefferson, Jr., Prostate Cancer Survivor, and the Founder and CEO of Abundant Life Tabernacle shared how discovering his own diagnosis likely saved his own life.“A movement happened out of my experience. I praise God because we were able to bring awareness as well as education to the Black male,” said Jefferson Jr.

The Abundant Life Tabernacle on Franklin Avenue partnered with Johnson & Johnson and Ochsner Health for the free screenings and informational sessions that included prostate checks, blood pressure and blood sugar testing, body fat analysis, and pneumonia and tetanus vaccines in order to promote the importance of health in the African American community. Guest speaker, Dr. Eric Griggs, led a discussion about overall health to residents, some of whom shared that they had survived heart attacks and cancer.

“The real heroes are survivors. You’re the true experts in the field, and we need to have more conversations about health,” Griggs said.

Other certified professionals who were a part of the larger men’s health panel were Dr. Brian Halbert, Dr. Jorge Caso, Dr. Brendan King, and Dr. John McGill, in conversation with former veteran local Broadcaster Norman Robinson.

“Particularly within the Black community, we see that they are two times more likely to be diagnosed with Prostate Cancer, but they are three times more likely to die from Prostate Cancer,” said Dr. Halbert of LCMC Health. “And if we don’t get the word out to the community that you can get checked, you can get tested, you can get screened, you can get treated, and you can get saved,” Halbert said.

All checked, cleared, and healthy, those who attended Abundant Life’s First Annual Prostate Cancer Awareness Day gathered in the sanctuary to learn more about the significant impact of preventative care to live long and healthy lives.

“It’s real important to do things like this. Get your blood tested, get screened for it, because again, if you catch it early enough, we can do something about it,” Dr. Caso said.