TD Bank has committed $100,000 to support the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center’s SC AMEN program, a community outreach initiative that brings education, screenings and health services assistance to Black men 40 to 69 years old in South Carolina.
Among Black men in South Carolina, prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and is the second leading cause of cancer death.
The SC AMEN program gathers men across the state in trusted local community spaces, such as churches, to provide information about prostate cancer, its risk factors, screening options and how it disproportionally impacts Black men. Following each SC AMEN program session, the health educators, including Program Manager Melanie Slan, MLIS and Kenneth Swaringer, MPH, navigate each participant to prostate cancer screening for three months, identifying local resources to address potential barriers to screening, such as lack of transportation. At the end of the 3-month period, the health educators follow up with participants to see if they have been screened or received a diagnosis of prostate cancer.
“The SC AMEN program focuses on an area that is really critically important, which is prostate cancer in Black men,” says Marvella Ford, Ph.D., associate director of Community Outreach and Engagement at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center, and founder of the program. “We know that in South Carolina, Black men die of prostate cancer at a rate that’s more than twice as high as for white men with prostate cancer. Through the SC AMEN program, we aim to reduce those alarming mortality rates.”
With this TD Bank support, the SC AMEN program will expand to reach Black men in rural areas in every county of South Carolina, with particular focus on those living along the I-95 Corridor, impacted by poverty and limited access to healthcare services. Residing in a rural area with a high poverty rate is linked to lower rates of cancer screening, and despite rural counties having lower prostate cancer incidence rates, they have higher death rates than non-rural counties.
“TD Bank is deeply committed to supporting initiatives that address the health disparities affecting our communities,” said David Lominack, Mid-South Commercial Market President at TD Bank. “MUSC’s SC AMEN program is helping to overcome barriers by bringing crucial health services and education to rural areas of South Carolina and TD is proud to support the more equitable access to healthcare that these efforts continue to create.”
About MUSC Hollings Cancer Center
MUSC Hollings Cancer Center is South Carolina’s only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center with the largest academic-based cancer research program in the state. With more than 150 faculty cancer scientists and 20 academic departments, it has an annual research funding portfolio of more than $50 million and sponsors more than 200 clinical trials across the state. Hollings offers state-of-the-art cancer screening, diagnostic capabilities, therapies and surgical techniques within its multidisciplinary clinics. Hollings specialists include surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, psychologists and other clinical providers equipped to provide the full range of cancer care. Dedicated to preventing and reducing the cancer burden statewide, the Hollings Office of Community Outreach and Engagement works with community organizations to bring cancer education and prevention information to affected populations. For more information, visit hollingscancercenter.
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