Oakwood University Church (OUC) members David and Mary Jo McElhaney gazed over the shoulder of Alabama Governor Kay Ivey as she signed into law the David “Mac” McElhaney and Roy S. Johnson Prostate Cancer Prevention Act for no-cost prostate cancer screening, on March 30, 2026.
The bill signing was the end of a three-year lobbying effort in Alabama for McElhaney, who also serves as the prostate health ministry leader for OUC. As a prostate cancer survivor, the issue of screening for high-risk men became a rallying point for him to join with other survivors to lobby for state and federal legislation that would require insurance companies to pay for early screenings.
At OUC, McElhaney has offered seminars for men and spouses, and other family members, to educate them on how early screening saves lives. The seminars also advise families how to navigate cancer diagnoses and treatments. His own journey with prostate cancer started with a diagnosis in 2019.
“I drove home in shock,” he recalls, after getting the news from his doctor. He chronicles his journey in his book, My Walk with God Through Prostate Cancer.
After beating cancer, he joined ZERO Prostate Cancer, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting prostate cancer survivors and lobbying Congress to adopt a similar law to cover all 50 states. Fellow OUC member and prostate cancer survivor Joseph Dent ─ former vice president for student services and associate professor of education at Washington Adventist University ─ joined McElhaney’s cause. The two men, along with McElhaney’s wife, Mary Jo, traveled to Montgomery, Ala., and Washington, D.C., advocating for this legislation.
“When the statistics say that one in eight men ─ and one in six Black men ─ will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, a disease that is nearly 100% curable if caught early, yet is asymptomatic until it reaches an advanced stage, you can understand why early screening is critical,” said McElhaney.
In 2024, the bill went to the Alabama House but died on the floor with only five House advocates. McElhaney and Dent regrouped and embarked on a campaign to create a groundswell of local support. They petitioned OUC members to sign digital letters to state representatives to request their support, and were featured in several stories on local news stations asking the community to do the same. Meanwhile, Roy S. Johnson, an opinion writer for AL.com chronicled his own journey through prostate cancer for readers, garnering support for the bill.
Together, their work resulted in the Alabama House and Senate unanimously voting to pass the bill in February 2026, making Alabama the 10th state to do so. The law, which goes into effect on January 1, 2027, requires insurance companies to pay screening costs for all men over 50, and men of any age ─ particularly Black men ─ who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, have been diagnosed with a cancer known to increase the risk of developing prostate cancer, have a family history of prostate cancer, or have a genetic marker associated with prostate cancer.
As he celebrates six years of being cancer free, McElhaney hopes men in Alabama will take advantage of the new law to protect their health and the health of their families while he continues his work of pushing for federal legislation.
South Central | June 2026
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