Health Emergency Declared in Black Churches, NBCI Pushes to Escalate Faith With Healing
By Camille Grayson
Carol Johnson and her son, Alray.
(TriceEdneyWire.com) - When her son was eight years old and while pursuing her masters degree, Carol Johnson, an attendance teacher from New Windsor, N.Y. was faced with the most agonizing discovery of her life.
Ten years ago, Johnson was diagnosed with breast cancer and was ordered by her doctor to take treatment immediately. She had surgery to remove the lump and lymph nodes and completed chemotherapy.
“I was stunned by the news. My doctor immediately took action. No time for me to think reflect, or question,” said Johnson. “I had further tests completed to confirm the diagnosis. Within days I had surgery.”
Johnson was calm before her surgery, and there was a lack of fear that was unexplainable. “I knew that God was in me, I knew that God’s spirit was with me, and I knew that God would heal
Johnson is a person of faith and active member of her church, Soul Saving Station. She made the decision to attend church bald during her chemotherapy. Because of her journey, she was embraced by the congregation and thankful for the way they treated her. This sort of active trust and involvement from the church is why the National Black Church Initiative (NBCI) plans to be more involved with congregation members and their personal health as well as faith.
“Testimonials are critical; it’s a huge part of our church community. It’s helped others to take initiative and make crucial decisions,” said Rev. Anthony Evans, NBCI founder and president.
Testimonies given in the church like Johnson’s are important for the congregation, ministers, and physicians to all connect in faith. Also, it serves as an example and encouragement for others who have the same problems to come forward.
Under the guidance and ministry of Rev. Evans, there are hopes that people with newly diagnosed breast and prostate cancer will seek help from the church. He believes the African-American church has a significant role of responsibility in their community’s physical health.
“It is essential for the African-American church to give confidence and faith, and that we are reaching our calling to help our people during good and bad times,” said Reverend Evans. “We want to surround people with the knowledge to empower their physicians and themselves through their own faith. We believe God has the ability and power to guide and heal.”
The NBCI is an association of 34,000 African-American churches across the nation. They have introduced a nationwide Breast and Prostate Cancer Study titled Health Emergency Declaration (HED) for African-Americans who have been recently diagnosed with breast or prostate cancer and would like to be informed of all the available treatment options.
This correspondence is a unique measure between the
“We’re excited because of this large organization and great network of churches, they are able to disseminate information in a very efficient way,” said Dr. Diefenbach. “Information is being provided from the pulpit, church bulletins, and thousands of emails to churches and individuals, and to show help is only a phone call away.”
If proven successful, this program will be a tremendous contribution to the public health of the African American population. According to the National Cancer Institute, the five year survival after diagnosis is lower among African-American women in comparison to White women. The survival rate among African-American women is 71 percent, compared to 86 percent among White women.
African-American men have far higher death rates from prostate cancer than any other racial or ethnic group. The death rate from prostate cancer is approximately 2.4 times higher in African-American men than in White men. Also, studies have documented unequal receipt of prompt, high-quality treatment for African-Americans as a whole.
Al Marcus, the doctoral program leader for AMC Cancer Prevention and Control at the University of Colorado Cancer Center will be collaborating with the NBCI too. He is looking forward to impacting the way the African-American community is informed, diagnosed, and screened.
“The program is really focusing on internet intervention to help newly diagnosed patients of cancer. We want to show that the special presentation of information can help decision making,” said Dr Marcus. “The ultimate goal is to move programs that are being tested out into the community once challenged to be affective.”
As Johnson described in her testimony, it is a huge shock for a person to discover they have cancer. There is the potential that during this stage, the information the doctor is sharing with the patient may not sink in. According to Dr. Diefenbach, in this situation, a person may not end up with the proper information and will refer to their own research. The hope is that African-American patients will refer to the NBCI to gain the proper knowledge.
“When you Google search results, you get over a million hits and most of them are not good sources, therefore it is difficult to decipher what information is reputable and not reputable, said Dr Diefenbach. “With our approach we try to end distrust of healthcare systems and clinical health.”
By visiting www.naltblackchurch.com/health/ readers can find testimonials from patients and their unscripted treatment diagnosis. There are also videos of specific physicians so that people may compare unbiased information from different sources.