An information center operating in North St. Louis makes it easy to pick up information on the different types of cancers that are prevalent in the African American Community and resources available to persons with cancer.
The TEN Cancer Information Center was established this summer in the office of The Empowerment Network, known as The TEN.
“What we do here is supply the community with information and education on cancer, cancer prevention, healthy eating,” Mellve Shahid, president and co-founder, said. “We’ve already gotten churches coming over. The health and wellness ministries are coming over, picking up information.”
He said great supporters of The TEN efforts are the American Cancer Society, St. Louis University School of Public Health, Betty Jean Kerr People’s Health Center and The 100 Black Men of Metropolitan St. Louis.
In addition to being a prostate cancer survivor himself, Shahid dedicates his community fight against cancer to two Mary Anns in his life who died from cancers – his mother, Mary Ann Smith, his grandmother, Mary Ann Maddox; and to his friend, the late Senator Paula J. Carter.
“Psychologically, African Americans just do not like going to the hospital for nothing other than going there and getting treatments. After the treatments, what we generally do is we leave,” Shahid anecdotally surmises.
“Siteman has a beautiful information center. Saint Louis University has a beautiful information and education center that African Americans do not utilize.”
Using internet radio, TEN plans to make cancer a topic of open discussion, not just in St. Louis, but as far as their web domains will take them.
“It’s about 90 percent complete. We are just tweaking. We are going to be broadcasting a health show each and every week…serious health topics, great survivor stories on our radio show; talking about what is going on in the world of prostate cancer” Shahid said. “TheEmpowermentNetwork.net – we bought six domain sites: one in Canada, one in the U.K., one in South Africa…a.net, .mobi and a .org.”
The Center is staffed Monday – Friday from 10 A.M. to 3 P.M. It is located in the rear office at 6000 W. Florissant Ave.
His hope and prayer is by opening a neighborhood information center, it will help save lives in the community. Shahid said the conference area at the center is also available for use by any cancer support group.
For more information, call 314-385-0998 or visit www.tenmen-stl.org.
