Father of Two Fights Prostate Cancer at the Same Time As His Father; Now He’s Spreading Prostate Cancer Awareness in the Black Community

As a Black man, Fletcher noted the differences that account for some of the racial disparities in healthcare. "With a white man it's part of their culture to get a routine check-up but with Black men they wait until they're sick," he said. Fletcher visited his general practitioner for a PSA test (prostate- specific antigen test for prostate cancer). When the test came back with concerning results, Fletcher referred for a biopsy.

The father of two received his biopsy results in September 2015. Coming on the heels of his father's prostate cancer battle, the news was devastating. "The surgeon told me he had good news and bad news so I asked for the bad news first," Fletcher said. "That's when he told me I have prostate cancer but the good news was it's at an early stage…it was micro because we'd caught it so early and we can do something about it."

Even with the positive news that his cancer was treatable, Fletcher was stunned by the results. "I was shaken. I didn't expect to be told I had prostate cancer. I didn't have any signs, I was fit and healthy so I really wasn't expecting this," he said. "Then the realization hit me that I had the same cancer as my 77-year-old dad and we were fighting it at the same time."

Some cancer fighters choose to battle their diseases privately, while others find strength in sharing their story with others. Sometimes, people with cancer are also embarrassed to discuss their health with others. Fletcher's father was not open to speaking about his disease with his son. "When I turned to him he wouldn't talk to me," Fletcher said. "He refused to speak to me even though he was going through it too."

In January 2016, Fletcherhad his prostate removed. "I had surgery because the worry is when the cancer spreads outside the prostate," he said.

Fletcher decided that it was important for him to speak openly about his health, and that other people might be able to learn from him. "Keeping quiet about our health is definitely a cultural thing which has been passed down and taught through the generations," he explained. "It's embedded into us and someone has to break the cycle."

But Fletcher's candidness was not well received "People don't want me to talk about it. The more I talked about it, the more I lost people," he said. "One person told me I had made a mistake and was 'mad' because a 'man touched my bottom' and I was told by others that no woman would be interested in me because of my treatment."

Just before Fletcher's father passed from cancer in 2018 at the age of 80, he told his son that he had a message to spread. "My dad looked at me and said, 'You're living and I'm dying,'" Fletcher said. "I could see the love in his eyes and then he told me 'I want you to tell the world about it.' This was the first time he acknowledged his cancer."

Fletcher has carried this mission forward fearlessly. In his free time, Fletcher teaches Black men about prostate cancer and encourages them to be more open about their health concerns. He wants others like him to know that having the courage to speak up can save your life.

Understanding Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. About one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime. The disease begins in the walnut-shaped prostate gland located between the rectum and bladder. This gland produces the fluid that nourishes sperm.

When gauging your risk for developing the disease, it’s important to consider the following risk factors:

• Men younger than 40 are less likely to get prostate cancer, but age-related risk quickly rises after age 50. Approximately six of ten cases of prostate cancer are found in men older than 65.
• Prostate cancer develops more often in African-American men and in Caribbean men of African ancestry than in men of other races, and these men tend to develop the disease at a younger age.
• Prostate cancer is most common in North America, northwestern Europe, Australia and on Caribbean islands. It is less common in Asia, Africa, Central America and South America. The reasons for this risk factor are unclear, but more intensive screening and lifestyle differences like diet might be contributing factors.
• Most prostate cancers occur in men without a family history of the disease, but it's still important to look at your family history because prostate cancer does seem to run in some families. Having a father or brother with prostate cancer, for instance, more than doubles a man's risk of developing the disease with a higher risk for men with a brother with prostate cancer than those with a father who have it. The risk is also especially high if a man has several affected relatives that developed the cancer at a younger age.
• Inherited gene changes, or mutations, like that of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes can also elevate risk, but this probably accounts for a small percentage of overall cases.

It is also important to note that, with this disease, symptoms are inconsistent and hard to pinpoint.

"Prostate cancer is a very odd disease in that it doesn't have a particular symptom," Dr. Edwin Posadas, director of translational oncology and the medical director of the Urologic Oncology Program at Cedars-Sinai, explained. But changes in urinary function like urinating more or less often or waking up at night to go more than usual could be a sign of the disease. However, it's important to note that these potential symptoms could also could be caused by a urinary tract infection or even an enlargement of the prostate gland (which is not cancer).

There's No One Definitive Symptom for Prostate Cancer, But There Are Clues

Doctors that have spoken with SurvivorNet shared a hopeful outlook when considering a prostate cancer diagnosis, because there are many treatment options, and there's been significant treatment progress over the past decade. Surgical and radiation options, for example, have made improvements in reducing side effects of treatment while still providing excellent cure rates. Even for men with an advanced-stage diagnosis, many new options exist to treat prostate cancer and help them maintain an excellent quality of life.

Prostate Cancer and Black Men

Dr. Posadas says the incidence of prostate cancer in Black men is 60 percent higher, "and they are two to three times more likely to die from the disease."

Staggeringly Higher Prostate Cancer Rates for Black Men

Therefore, it is important to know your risk level and prioritize screening. Prostate cancer is typically slow-growing, so it is easily treated if caught early with screening which experts recommend doing around 40 or 45 years old depending on your family history.

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