Staying Proactive
- TODAY anchor Al Roker admitted he was very close to putting off an annual physical due to COVID, but he came to his senses and made it to his appointment, only to find out that he had an aggressive type of prostate cancer.
- The husband and father now makes it his mission to remind everyone to get into their check-ups and screenings,
- African-Americans have a higher chance of getting prostate cancer and are two to three times more likely to die from the disease, according to a leading expert.
“I cannot stress enough to people, go out there and get your checkup, make sure you get checked,” Roker said this morning on the hit 4-hour news program. He admitted he was very close to putting off an annual physical due to COVID, which has unfortunately been a common story. Luckily, he came to his senses and made it to his appointment, only to find out that he had prostate cancer.
Read More“My outlook and outcome might have been completely different, so I cannot stress enough to people, go out there and get your checkup, make sure you get checked,” he said.
Roker, who has been taking outdoor strolls and posting them on Instagram to encourage others to get healthy, also said on TODAY that he had his six-month checkup and he’s still “all clear.”
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As long as the seemingly jolly weatherman continues to stay proactive about his health, he will hopefully have many more years to dedicate to his career and family. Roker has been married to wife Deborah Roberts, 60, for 26 years. The couple have two children together, Leila, 22, and Nicholas, 18. Roker has a daughter Courtney, 34, from his previous marriage to producer Alice Bell.
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Prostate Cancer Affects More Black Men
Not shying away from discussing his diagnosis at the time, Roker decided to share his unfortunate news to help the African American community especially, saying that 1 in 7 Black men and 1 in 9 men overall will be diagnosed in their lifetime with prostate cancer.
Dr. Edwin Posadas, the medical director of the urologic oncology program at Cedars-Sinai, says the incidence of prostate cancer in Black men is 60% higher. “And they are two to three times more likely to die from the disease," Dr. Posadas says.
Staggeringly Higher Prostate Cancer Rates for Black Men
Prostate cancer is typically a slow-growing cancer that is easily treated if caught early, so the best thing you can do is get in for early screening, which experts recommend doing around 40 or 45 years old, depending on your family history.
Dr. James Brooks, a urologic oncologist at Stanford Medicine, explains the PSA (prostate specific antigen) test, which is used to screen for prostate cancer.
"If a man has an elevated PSA, he has somewhere around a 20% to 40% chance of having prostate cancer," Dr. Brooks says. "I would recommend that they get a PSA at age 45."
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