Encouraging Prostate Cancer Screening For Black Men
- Singer, pastor, and record producer Montell Jordan is raising awareness for prostate cancer and urging early detection, especially for Black men who are considered at “higher risk” – after his recent battle with the disease.
- Prostate cancer screening guidelines released this year now urge Black men to begin screening at 40 years old, which is 10 to 15 years earlier than men at average risk. The National Cancer Institute says among Black men, “death rates are higher” or “more than twice” that of white men, sparking increased efforts to boost early detection for this demographic.
- Jordan was diagnosed with stage 1 prostate cancer in January 2024. After undergoing a radical prostatectomy on Nov. 5, which removes the entire prostate, along with some tissue around it, including the seminal vesicles that release fluid into the semen, his doctors found more cancer in the prostate, making it stage 2. However, he says “they got it all,” referring to the doctor’s taking out the cancer during his surgery.
- SurvivorNet experts support standard screening methods such as a digital rectal exam and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. This test measures the level of PSA in the blood, and higher levels can indicate cancer.
- SurvivorNet holds an annual Close the Gap conference to educate, spread awareness, and ultimately work to eliminate racial disparities in cancer care. Our efforts aim to ensure everyone has access to education about cancer, screening recommendations, treatment options, clinical trials, and more.
Singer-songwriter, pastor, and record producer Montell Jordan recently celebrated his 56th birthday by spreading prostate cancer awareness—just weeks after beating the disease.
Read MoreIn the footage, Jordan is seen holding up cards describing his health journey which began earlier this year.
He explained, “Today, Tuesday Dec. 3, is my birthday. I’m 56 years young. I’m grateful to be alive. January 2024 I was diagnosed with stage one prostate cancer. Yes. Earlier this year.”
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Jordan continues, “Early Detection help saved my life. My wife, my kids, my close family and friends have been my tribe … our church.
“I have an amazing community. I learned I can do hard things. I cannot do hard things alone. We have been documenting this journey. We researched and reviewed all options. We prayed hard.”
SurvivorNetTV presents ‘Turning to Faith,’ an episode from our original series SN & You that depicts cancer survivors’ journeys and the role faith plays in their lives.
He then noted that he underwent surgery on Nov. 5th to have his prostate removed— that’s when they discovered more cancer in what was removed.
“It was more aggressive, it was undetected, it was more like stage two. But they got it all. THEY GOT IT ALL,” he added. “Jesus saved my soul. Early detection helped saved my life.”
RELATED: The PSA Blood Test and a Rectal Exam are Vital for Prostate Cancer Screening
Jordan also pointed out that his birthday was exactly four weeks after surgery and he’s “still healing.”
“I’m now cancer free,” he concluded.
Surgery Isn’t Always the First Option; Some Choose ‘Active Surveillance’
It’s common for prostate cancer to grow very slowly. Some men, especially those who are older and those who have a low risk of the cancer spreading, may not need aggressive treatment, making active surveillance a viable option.
WATCH: People With Low-Risk Prostate Cancer Can Rely on Monitoring the Disease
Active surveillance means the doctor watches the cancer carefully for changes, with a PSA blood test every six months and a digital rectal exam about once a year. You may also get prostate biopsies and imaging tests every one to three years.
SurvivorNet experts stress active surveillance is not “watchful waiting.” Active surveillance is a treatment, and as the name implies, it is active. This path requires coordination between the patient and their healthcare team.
“[It’s] not just kind of check in once a year—hey, how are you doing—but actively have a physician check a PSA and do a rectal examination,” Dr. Edwin Posadas, director of the Translational Oncology Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, told SurvivorNet.
“We can actually see some of the metabolic information within the cells through our next-generation imaging and find high-risk areas that are or are not changing in a patient to let us know, yeah, that cancer’s still sleeping. Let’s not bother– let’s not put that young man through the risk of losing his sexual quality of life or his urinary quality of life,” Dr. Posadas added.
Half of men who choose this approach will avoid unnecessary treatment and potential side effects.
But the other half of men do end up having treatment, whether as a personal decision to remove the cancer or to treat the disease as it progresses. Your doctor will determine if this is necessary based on the results of your ongoing tests.
Surgery Options for Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer treatment depends on the results of a prostate exam, your PSA numbers, and your Gleason Score, which helps determine how aggressive the cancer is.
Your doctor will determine your risk level, which ranges from low to intermediate to high. Men with low risk and very low risk may bypass surgery. Meanwhile, men at higher risk may receive more intense treatment.
WATCH: Dr. David Wise, NYU Langone medical oncologist, explains how Gleason’s score affects treatment and prognosis.
Surgery is an option for men with any risk group of prostate cancer that hasn’t spread outside of the prostate gland. The surgery procedure is called a radical prostatectomy. During this procedure, the surgeon removes the entire prostate, along with some tissue around it, including the seminal vesicles that release fluid into the semen. Your doctor can perform this through a traditional open procedure called laparoscopic surgery with one large or several small incisions.
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“It’s typically done through a robotic technique today, at least in the United States, but a lot of patients are still getting open surgery,” Dr. Stephen Freedland, a urologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview.
“Depending on the surgeon, it may be two, three, four, five hours — somewhere in that range, usually spend one night in the hospital. You wake up from the surgery with a catheter in your bladder. Once you’re home, it’s really just recovering, gaining your strength back,” Dr. Freedland continued.
WATCH: How do you choose the right surgeon, particularly for robotic surgery?
Other common treatment options for men with prostate cancer include:
Radiation therapy.
You’ll usually get this treatment five days a week for several weeks. Newer techniques include stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), which aims for more focused radiation beams at the tumor to spare surrounding healthy tissues and may allow treatment in a shorter time.
Brachytherapy implants small seeds containing radiation directly into your prostate. This type of radiation works best in men with smaller prostates.
If your prostate is very large, your doctor might give you hormone therapy first to shrink it.
Combination radiation therapy with hormonal therapy.
Androgens are male hormones that fuel the growth of prostate cancer. Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), also known as hormone therapy, reduces levels of these hormones your body makes to slow the cancer’s growth.
“Usually, for men with tumors that spread, hormonal therapy is usually the first line that we do, and more importantly, it’s the backbone upon which we build,” Dr. Freedland explained to SurvivorNet.
Surgery followed by radiation.
Radiation therapy can be used after surgery to get rid of any cancer cells that were left behind. Getting radiation along with surgery is called adjuvant therapy.
Sometimes, men who have surgery will need radiation therapy after surgery if the surgeon cannot remove all of the prostate, your PSA does not become undetectable, or you have a high-risk genetic profile if the tissue is sent for testing.
Men with high-risk and very high-risk prostate cancer are more likely to require radiation after surgery than men with lower-risk disease.
Addressing Prostate Cancer In Black Men
“Prostate cancer affects men of all walks of life, but it affects them differently,” says Dr. Edwin Posadas, Director of Translational Oncology and the Medical Director of the Urologic Oncology Program at Cedars-Sinai.
For example, the incidence of prostate cancer in African-American men is 60 percent higher, and they are two to three times more likely to die from the disease.
This year, the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) released new cancer screening guidelines with Black men in mind.
WATCH: How to Address Racial Disparities in Cancer Care
Since Black men tend to be diagnosed with prostate cancer at younger ages compared to other racial groups, the new guidelines state Black men should consider screening at 40 years old since this demographic group is regarded as a “high-risk population.”
“Few guidelines have outlined specific recommendations for prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based prostate cancer screening among Black men,” researchers for PCF said in its report published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
“Discussions with health care providers about baseline PSA testing should begin by the time Black men are in their early 40s, and modeling data suggests prostate cancer develops 3-9 years earlier in Black men compared to their peers. Lowering the age for baseline PSA testing from 50-55 years to 40-45, followed by regular screening intervals until the age of 70, would reduce prostate cancer mortality in Black men,” the PCF said in its report.
SurvivorNet holds an annual Close the Gap conference to educate, spread awareness, and ultimately work to eliminate racial disparities in cancer care. Our efforts aim to ensure everyone has access to education about cancer, screening recommendations, treatment options, clinical trials, and more.
The Power of Faith
For some people like Jordan, turning to faith can be a great way to keep spirits high when cancer starts taking an emotional and/or physical toll. New York City Presbyterian Pastor Tom Evans previously spoke with SurvivorNet about the importance of find ways to cope with the complex web of feelings you may be experiencing after a cancer diagnosis.
“It’s important to reach out in a simple prayer to God, even if you’ve never prayed before, you don’t know what to say, a heartfelt plea, ‘God, help me, be with me,’” Pastor Evans told SurvivorNet. “You can reach out to God and you can reach out to people, your friends and family and say, ‘I can’t do this on my own. I need you,’
“It’s in that willingness to be open and to receive that we can actually find something deeper that we never would’ve encountered without this hardship.”
WATCH: Faith Perspective Opening Yourself Up to Others After a Cancer Diagnosis
Meanwhile, a study published in Cancer, 69% of cancer patients say that they rely on faith throughout cancer treatment, and use prayer as a way to call for good health.
Researchers who studied the relationship between praying and life expectancy in cancer patients found the power of prayer helps withstand pain and suffering.
“The patients can overcome their illnesses with the help of praying and of other religious actions, thus helping them gain more power and being able to control their illnesses, as they know a lot about their sickness therefore, they can stand the pain and suffering and become hopeful to future,” researchers N. Hekmati Pour and H. Hojjati said in the Journal of Medicine and Life.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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