Community News
A mandate to educate black men; the Walnut Foundation Walks the Path for prostate cancer
BY MICHAEL THOMAS
For the last five years now, no matter the weather: family, friends, and supporters have been doing The Walnut Foundation’s highly anticipated ‘Walk the Path’ Walkathon. The walk helps in raising awareness and funds to help men – particularly black men – who are disproportionately affected, to get a better understanding and take responsibility for their prostate health.
This is done through diverse Prostate Cancer education initiatives. The current global pandemic, and the necessary social distancing guidelines inspired the team at The Walnut Foundation to go virtual with the walkathon this year. This year it runs from May 1st – June 30th, 2020, instead of being only one day.
To complete the 10 km, participants have been walking in their homes, their yards, and communities, taking safety precautions into consideration. Registration is ongoing and can be confirmed via e-mail to info@thewalnutfoundation.com. Donations are welcome and can be made by credit card at www.thewalnutfoundation.com or by cheque to The Walnut Foundation: PO Box 74053 Kingspoint Plaza PO Brampton, Ontario, L6V 4J7. Donations of $20 and above will receive a tax receipt.
On Father’s Day a special Walkathon Challenge for the whole family will be announced across all their social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) @TheWalnutFounda
The Walnut Foundation was founded in 2007 and is a charitable, not-for-profit organization established by two prostate cancer survivors with different treatment experiences, and a shared passion for: addressing the prevalence of the disease in black men the silence in the community, and the need for greater insights and information on well-being.
We spoke with one of the founders and First Vice President Mr. Anthony Henry, about the progress being made since Toronto Caribbean Newspaper’s initial article last year. Henry affirmed that he and his organization are trying to adapt to all the changes brought about by COVID-19.
“Our meetings are held online now,” he said, “Where normally we would have gotten together in person, the virtual walk allows them to do so and still stay active while being on lockdown. It has been challenging because people are accustomed to getting together for the walk.”
There was a survey done last year which involved Prostate Cancer Canada. It revealed that over 70% of black Canadians are in the dark when it comes to knowing that they are at higher risk of getting this disease than other races.
Henry was asked why the ignorance concerning something so detrimental? “I believe it’s the secrecy surrounding it. Nobody wants to talk about it. If you don’t talk, you don’t share. You don’t gain the understanding, and that is one of the reasons that The Walnut Foundation was created, because the mandate here is to educate.”
Henry stressed that the key here is getting tested at 40 instead of 50 and monitoring your numbers to know where you stand on the prostate health scale all the time. As black men don’t wait around and say, “I don’t want to be touched there. Take control of your health. it could literally mean your life.”
“If we can change the perception, get people talking, maybe we can get them looking at this sooner in conjunction with their health care professionals,” Henry reiterated. “I was in a conference call a couple of weeks ago talking to some researchers in the U.S, and what they find is that when black men are aware of the risk factor, we get tested earlier, and our outcomes are even better than that of the general population.”
For more information on this subject please visit www.thewalnutfoundation.com