CHAMPS 2011: Rewriting Your Future

The Community Health and Men's Promotions Summit. CHAMPS 2011 marks two decades that Dr. James K. Bennett has advocated the awareness of the various men's health issues that are so prevalent in our community. Every September, Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, CHAMPS offers numerous health screenings for adults of all ages.

Health fairs are quite common nowadays. So what makes this one oh so special?

Let's start with the superficialities. CHAMPS is large-scale. Catering resources to over 500 men (and their families), the program itself requires the Georgia World Congress Center for sufficient space. Although United States healthcare is set for reform in the near future, currently, 42.6 million Americans are living without health insurance, including nearly 25% of Georgians. If this still doesn't hit home, imagine paying $125 for a check-up every six months (tack on $200 for lab work). In short, CHAMPS assists in closing the gap between healthcare and its recipients in our community.

One in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their lives. If you are like me, you have more than six men in your family alone. If imagining your father or brother with cancer doesn't speak to the need for awareness, you don't have to read any further. CHAMPS provides digital rectal exams (DREs) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) to all attendees. It is recommended that all men over the age of 40 receive these tests annually.

• DRE: a doctor directly examines the overall condition of the prostate using the index finger, inserted through the rectum.
• PSA: a sample of blood is taken to test the levels of a specific molecule that is indicative of the susceptibility to prostate cancer development.

Let's face it. Men don't like to go to the doctor. Whether it be that avertible expense or "the finger", a man will avoid the doctor like a Bed, Bath, and Beyond. CHAMPS looks to highlight the preventability to the epidemics that are taking control of the male population. So, if you're a man aged 18 or older, if you're a mother whose son has an invincibility complex, or if you're a wife with a stubborn husband, come to CHAMPS 2011, and encourage the other men in your life to do the same. Take control of your health, and rewrite your future with a healthier, happier you as the main character.

CHAMPS 2011

Georgia World Congress Center

285 Andrew Young Intl. Blvd.

Atlanta, GA 30313

10 AM - 3 PM

Visit www.champsga.org for more information and a full listing of available screenings.