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Those who are organizing local activities that are part of Minority Health Month say the focus will be on health education and lifetime preventative screenings.
Those are important things to pay attention to not just in April, but all year long.
According to the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, the month is designed to build awareness of the disproportionate burden of premature death and illness in people from racial and ethnic minority groups, and to encourage action through education, early detection and control of disease complications.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important for everyone, but there are some sobering statistics that highlight the importance of reaching out to minority populations. For example, Blacks are 30 percent more likely to die from heart disease, 50 percent more likely to have a stroke and 30 percent more likely to have asthma, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The American Cancer Society, meanwhile, reports that one in six Black men will develop prostate cancer, as compared to one in eight men overall, and adds that Black men are 1.7 times more likely to be diagnosed with and 2.1 times more likely to die from prostate cancer than white men. And, the cancer society reports, Black women have a 40 percent higher death from cancer than white women.
This year's national theme for the month is "Be the Source for Better Health: Improving Health Outcomes Through Our Cultures, Communities and Connections." Locally, the theme is "Making My Health a Priority."
Working to coordinate activities is the Neighborhood Community Development Center of Urban Mission Ministries.
Those activities include:
• The annual men's health breakfast, which will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Vinson Hospitality House, 719 N. Fifth St.;
• A free prostate screening from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. April 23 at the Tony Teramana Cancer Center. Men 40 and older must register ahead of time and can do so by calling the cancer center's Marsha Lewis at (740) 264-8207. The deadline to register is April 19.
• A free women's breast cancer screening from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 25. Organizers said the registration goal already has been met, but women who don't make it to this screening can call Dr. Vanessa Palmer at (740) 535-6033 to be registered for a screening in June, with an exact date to be determined; and
• A natural health day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 27 at the War Memorial Building, 423 North St.
"What we're making available are tools, materials and connecting people with health care providers. ... Now is the time for members of our community and the minority community to take action and make their health a priority. We're here to help along the way, but you've got to take the steps," said Cynthia Lytle, community engagement director for the Urban Mission.
That's an important philosophy to remember today, tomorrow and every day and month going forward.