Loving Wife of Singer Montell Jordan, 56, Kristin, Asks for ‘God’s Healing Power’ as Her Husband’s Continued Prostate Cancer Journey

 

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During an interview on “The Breakfast Club,” Jordan explained that after his diagnosis, he felt like he was in uncharted territory. However, he shared the one thing he and his wife, Kristin, did to find their way.

“My wife and I felt like we heard the Lord say to us, tell everything, film it, so we started filming this documentary that will eventually be called ‘Sustained’ and this film will be us telling this entire story from diagnosis, up to how we vetted doctors, how we vetted treatments, what we chose to do, and how I chose to have a radical prostatectomy surgery and how I had my prostate removed and from there, the process afterwards, how I got clear margins and what that journey is today.”

In an interview with fellow survivor Al Roker on the “Today Show,” Jordan opened up about the emotional weight of facing cancer again. “I understood the idea to be a cancer survivor, but I didn’t know there was a thing to be a two-time cancer survivor,” he said.

WATCH: Men Beating the Odds

Jordan first revealed his diagnosis in December 2024, nearly a year after doctors began monitoring his rising PSA levels.

The prostate-specific antigen test (PSA) measures the prostate-specific antigen in the blood. An elevated PSA level in the blood does not always mean you have prostate cancer, but it does call for further tests.

RELATED: Check Out SurvivorNet’s Digital Guide to Prostate Cancer.

“My initial reaction was, I didn’t feel any different, and I didn’t have any symptoms,” he explained to the “Today Show.” “For the decade, I had received regular check-ups, but over time, my doctors noticed that my PSA numbers had been increasing.”

That vigilance led to a diagnosis of Gleason 6 prostate cancer—considered low risk but still requiring attention. “I was first diagnosed with Gleason 6,” Jordan said, referring to the scoring system that helps determine the aggressiveness of prostate cancer.

The results of the PSA test provide a Gleason Score. This score ranges from 6 to 10. The higher the score, the more aggressive the cancer. This score, along with other test results, helps doctors determine if cancer is “low risk,” “intermediate risk,” or “high risk.”

WATCH: How Gleason Grade Determines Treatment

Jordan opted for a prostatectomy, a surgical procedure that removes the prostate and surrounding tissue. Though the surgery came with potential side effects like erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence, Jordan remained focused on recovery.

“Post-treatment, I’m doing well. I’m still going to get regular check-ups,” Jordan said.

Using Faith as a Tool for Healing

A study published in Cancer highlights the powerful role of faith in the lives of cancer patients, revealing that 69% of those diagnosed with cancer reported praying for their health, compared to 45% of the general U.S. population.

Cancer psychologist Dr. Andrew Kneier helped co-author “Coping with Cancer: Ten Steps toward Emotional Well-Being.” He also co-authored a column published by Stanford Medicine with Rabbi Jeffery M. Silberman, director of spiritual care at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut.

Together, they emphasize the deep emotional and psychological support that faith provides to those battling illness.

According to Kneier and Silberman, spirituality offers a powerful coping mechanism, helping individuals navigate the uncertainty that comes with a cancer diagnosis.

“A person’s faith or spirituality provides a means for coping with illness and reaching a deeper kind of inner healing,” they explain.

Faith helps patients in multiple ways, including:

• Seeking answers to the difficult questions illness presents.
• Finding comfort in the midst of fear and pain.
• Gaining a sense of direction during an overwhelming and uncertain time.

Religious teachings, they argue, can serve as a guidepost, offering strength and resilience when navigating the emotional and physical challenges of cancer.

WATCH: Three-time cancer survivor shares how her faith helped her during cancer.

New York City Presbyterian Pastor Tom Evans tells SurvivorNet about the importance of finding ways to cope with the complex web of feelings you may be experiencing after a challenging health diagnosis, such as cancer.

“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 find something deeper that we never would’ve encountered without this hardship,” Evans continued.

Supporting a Loved One Facing a Health Challenge

Research published in The Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine studied the impact of disease on family members. It found, “Most chronic diseases have similar effects on family members, including psychological and emotional functioning, disruption of leisure activities, effect on interpersonal relationships, and financial resources.”

If you have a loved one fighting a disease or cancer, SurvivorNet has some ideas to help you better support your loved one. Simple tasks like helping with household chores or running errands can do wonders for your loved one who’s diagnosed.

These tasks can make all the difference in relieving stress when the effect of chemotherapy brings on fatigue, for example. Other ideas to help your loved one battling cancer include cooking, bringing prepared meals, or doing an activity you enjoy together.

The support helps put your loved one battling a disease or cancer more at ease, as they may be overwhelmed with anxiety after a diagnosis or during intense treatment.

“There are a number of common things cancer patients can experience,” Dr. Shelly Tworoger, a researcher at Moffitt Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet.

“Anxiety, depression, financial toxicity, social isolation, and PTSD,” Dr. Tworoger said, are all emotions cancer warriors may experience and can be eased by loved ones.

If you are a caregiver of your loved one facing a diagnosis, it is important to maintain your mental and physical health.

“Caregiving is the most important job in the universe because you are there through the highs and lows,” Julie Bulger, manager of patient and family-centered care at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet.

Caregivers must also watch out for “caregiver burnout,” where stress, anger, fatigue, and illness emerge from putting another person’s needs ahead of their own.

Caregivers who struggle to care for a cancer warrior should seek out a therapist or a support group, either online or in person.

How To Help A Partner Diagnosed With Cancer

After a cancer diagnosis, it’s natural for spouses to grapple with a whirlwind of emotions — anger, grief, anxiety, and beyond. The journey ahead can feel overwhelming, but it’s important to remember that a cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence. There are strategies to navigate uncertainty, find support, and face challenges with resilience.

Some popular approaches, backed by research and many anecdotal accounts, include:

• Talking to a therapist to share feelings you’re going through
• Having candid conversations with your loved one about the diagnosis
• Researching the disease together to learn about available treatment options
• Joining a support group or connecting with others who have gone through, or are going through, the same experience

WATCH: Glenn Torchia talks about how he was there for his wife, Millie, while she battled stage 4 lung cancer

Your Role As A Caregiver

SurvivorNet has spoken with a collection of expert oncologists, social workers, and patient advocates to provide a helpful list of how cancer caregivers can help throughout the treatment journey and beyond.

Attend Doctor Visits

Throughout the treatment process, there will be many occasions when the patient receives a large amount of information at once. As a caregiver, attending as many doctor visits as possible can be a huge help. This allows you to take notes on treatment options, protocols, lifestyle changes that may be needed, and more.

Connect With a Social Worker or Patient Navigator

Ask for the patient’s medical team to connect you with a patient navigator or social worker. Many hospitals and cancer centers have specialized staff available to connect you with additional resources, which may include arranging transportation to and from doctor appointments, assisting with insurance claims, and more.

WATCH: How Patient Navigators Can Help

“Patient navigators can function differently at different hospitals,” Dr. Kathie-Ann Joseph, a surgical oncologist at NYU Langone Health’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet.

“We have a really wonderful program at [NYU] where we use lay navigators, meaning they’re not nurses — although you can use nurses or social workers, that pretty much help newly diagnosed cancer patients through the continuum of care,” Dr. Joseph added.

Additional services patient navigators may provide include:

• Attending future appointments with you
• Providing an assessment for the next steps of care
• Assisting with housing, transportation, or immigration issues
• Helping with financial issues
• Providing direction on legal issues

Help the Patient Keep Track of Their Symptoms

As mind-boggling as a cancer diagnosis can be for a spouse or loved one, it’s likely more stressful for the patient.

Sometimes, it is easier for the caregiver to monitor the patient’s symptoms than for the patient. Try to maintain an open line of communication and encourage your loved one to share their feelings regularly to help monitor symptoms.

Let the Patient Speak for Themselves Whenever Possible

As a caregiver, your role is to be the best advocate possible for the patient. While assisting them with various tasks, it is essential to allow them to maintain a sense of independence whenever possible. Cancer caregivers can help keep track of symptoms, navigate finances, and even emotions — but they should also let the person they are caring for speak up about what they genuinely need throughout the process.

“Some of the best examples that I have seen in caregivers are those spouses or loved ones who really, almost sit back and they allow the patient, or they want the patient to express what the patient feels first, rather than barging in,” gynecologic oncologist Dr. Jayanthi Lea told SurvivorNet.

“…Step back a little bit and let the patient speak for themselves. Let them express what they are feeling. That is so important for the patient’s overall quality of life and well-being,” Dr. Lea added.

Why Prostate Cancer Can Return

Prostate cancer recurrence is not all that uncommon. A study published in the medical journal JAMA followed 1,997 men who had undergone prostate removal surgery. Of those, 304 experienced a recurrence, and about 25% of those cases occurred five or more years after surgery.

Researchers believe that dormant cancer cells can hide in the body for years. The bone marrow, in particular, is considered a key hiding place. This is supported by findings published in the International Journal of Cancer, which noted, “In one autopsy study, approximately 80% of the men who had died from prostate cancer possessed bone metastases.”

Other potential reservoirs for dormant cancer cells include the lymph nodes and the prostate bed—the area where the prostate gland once was—though these are more difficult to study.

Researchers have made significant strides in understanding how prostate cancer can spread early—even when it appears to be under control—and then return months or even years later. One key discovery is that the bones are a common site for prostate cancer to spread. In fact, scientists have found dormant cancer cells hiding in the bone marrow of many patients, even when the disease seems confined to the prostate.

Lab studies, mostly using model systems, have also helped uncover how prostate cancer cells can lie dormant for long periods before becoming active again. While treatments like hormone therapy and radiation after surgery have shown promise, experts agree that more research—both in the lab and in clinical trials—is needed to improve outcomes for patients.

Prostate Cancer Screening and Warning Signs

When you do get screened for prostate cancer, your doctor will run a few tests.

One of the tests is the PSA test, a simple blood test that screens for prostate cancer. It looks for more significant amounts of protein-specific antigen (PSA) in the blood. An elevated PSA test does not always mean you have prostate cancer. It could also reflect that your prostate is enlarged, which is common, or it could signal an infection or inflammation.

Your doctor may also conduct a digital rectal exam (DRE) to check your prostate for lumps.

Depending on the results of these tests, imaging scans and a biopsy may be ordered.

WATCH: How Gleason Grade Determines Treatment

Prostate cancer does not always behave the same in every man it impacts. The cancer can be considered “low-risk” and can be slow-growing, and treatment might not be necessary. In other men, the cancer may grow faster or more aggressively, requiring more immediate treatment. Because of this, there is some debate about screening.

The United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends that men at average risk between the ages of 55 and 69 years talk with their doctor about the pros and cons of prostate cancer screening.

The American Cancer Society recommends that men at age 50 who are at average risk should begin screening. Men who are at high risk of prostate cancer should begin screening at age 40. Men with a close relative diagnosed with prostate cancer should consider annual screenings in their 30s.

SurvivorNet experts suggested that men consider factors like their family history, genes, and age when deciding whether and when to screen.

Symptoms of prostate cancer may include:

• Urinating more often
• Waking up in the middle of the night to pee
• Blood in your urine
• Trouble getting an erection
• Pain or burning when you urinate
• Pain in your back, hips, thighs, or other bones
• Unexplained weight loss
• Fatigue

If You’re Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer, What to Expect for Treatment?

After testing and establishing your risk, your doctor will discuss possible treatment options. These may range from active surveillance to more aggressive options, including surgery and radiation therapy.

WATCH: Coping emotionally after a prostate cancer diagnosis

Surgery is an option for men with any risk group of prostate cancer that hasn’t spread outside of the prostate gland. The type of surgery most often used is called a radical prostatectomy.

During the 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 with one large or several small incisions, called laparoscopic surgery.

WATCH: Sexual Function Recovery After Prostate Cancer Surgery

Surgery side effects may include erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence. Fortunately, the side effects are usually temporary, and there are ways to help you manage them.

“Erectile function is so sensitive when we’re dealing with prostate cancer because the nerves that are critical for this function wrap around the prostate; they’re just so intimately connected to the prostate that they can be damaged from a surgical removal of the prostate or through radiation treatment,” Dr. Isla Garraway, a staff urologist in the Veterans Administration (VA) Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, told SurvivorNet.

Doctors often recommend sexual counseling after prostate cancer treatment to help improve sexual function. This approach actively addresses the psychological, emotional, and relationship impacts on sexual health.

Radiation therapy is often done when prostate cancer is caught early and confined to the prostate gland.

Questions for Your Doctor

If you have experienced symptoms associated with prostate cancer or have a screening coming up, here are some questions you may ask your doctor:

• If I had elevated PSA levels, what could be causing that besides cancer?
• How long will it take to learn if my PSA levels warrant further testing?
• What are the treatment options that are best suited for me based on my risk level?
• What financial resources exist to help me with the costs associated with treatment?
• How long will my potential treatment prevent me from working or continuing normal activities?

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