One of the largest and most successful community-based events for prostate cancer education and awareness
Scene from the play “Daddy’s Boys”
Nationwide — PHEN (Prostate Health Education Network) presented the Daddy’s Boys stage play on May 12th at the Reid Temple AME Church in Glenn Dale, MD before an audience of more than 1,000. With an educational workshop and prostate cancer screening held prior to the play, this was a highly successful community based prostate cancer education and awareness event.
Rev. Joseph Deck, III, Senior Minister to Men at Reid Temple who led the efforts at Reid to host the play states, “As Minister to Men, I witnessed after the workshop and play, men and caregivers moving from victimization and fear to empowerment and courage! Our Partnership with PHEN has been life giving to Reid Temple.”
Daddy’s Boys is the latest health-oriented presentation by playwright Garrett Davis, who uses humor and music-laden dramas to bring awareness to minority health issues. The PHEN/Davis collaboration builds on Davis’ established portfolio of stage productions that highlight diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease among other issues.
PHEN is touring Daddy’s Boys nationally with the support of partners including Astellas, Amgen, Accuray, Bayer, Pfizer Oncology, Genomic Health, Myriad and Janssen Oncology. PHEN works with its network of church partners to host and promote the play within their communities. The performances are free of charge to the public.
“The Daddy’s Boys play enables us to use entertainment to attract thousands more people to educate about prostate cancer and this will impact their actions and help save more lives,” according to Thomas Farrington, Founder and President of the Prostate Health Education Network and an 18-year prostate cancer survivor.
“The play was outstanding and very informative. Often family members feel left out and hurt when they discover that a loved one has kept life changing information from them. I feel the members of the cast did an excellent job of showing how families can and should come together to address medical concerns,” says Abraham Parks who attended Daddy’s Boys at Reid Temple.
PHEN will next present Daddy’s Boys at The Saint Paul’s Baptist Church in Richmond, VA on June 9th where the Rev. Dr. Lance Watson is the Senior Pastor. For more information about the play and for free tickets visit www.daddysboys.net
About PHEN
The Prostate Health Education Network (PHEN) is the leading prostate cancer patient education and advocacy organization addressing the needs of African American families. Based in Quincy MA, PHEN is a 501c(3) organization founded in 2003. Prostate cancer is the leading cause of cancer among all men. Black men are diagnosed at a rate 60% higher with a death rate 130% higher than men of all other racial and ethnic groups. PHEN provides education and awareness about the disease towards eliminating this disparity. For more details, visit www.prostatehealthed.org
About Reid Temple AME Church
Reid Temple AME Church, led by Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Lee P. Washington, is one church in three locations in DC/Maryland/Virginia (DMV) with a growing community of faith of over 15, 000 members. Reid Temple Men’s Ministry is a dynamic and innovative ministry of 8,000 men strong who demonstrate an unshakable faith in God.
PRESS CONTACT:
PHEN
Carmen Fields
(617) 845-5580
Carmen@prostatehealthed.org
Churches and other organizations that may be interested in hosting Daddy’s Boys should email PHEN at rapcancer@prostatehealthed.org