Hi! I'm Dante, I’m a 41 years (young) male who identifies as Black/African American. I'm pretty sure there are those who would identify in a similar situation. My work allows me to meet many men who identify as such, and a large part of that work is cancer prevention. When it comes to cancer prevention, I not only try to show the merits of screening and testing for my community, but I practice what I preach. I value anecdotal evidence in combination with scientific evidence and from this standpoint, if I am reaching out to other African American/African Descent men and talking about the glaring disparities that exist in prostate cancer, then I would have a great story in my tool belt of how I have been screened and had my PSA test done.  It's a bit different for me though...

I like to be known for my honesty and to be candid with the people that I share my stories with. I think authenticity is very valuable when your goal is to connect with people. The purpose (for me anyways) is to relate to as many people that I can. This is in part because I believe in the art of storytelling. In my own opinion, I think that the patient and human "lived-experience" adds value and impact to any empirical data. It's one thing to collect data and numbers, but to hear the first-hand, lived experience of those behind the number only strengthens any argument.

With that in mind, what I do is important and approaching health disparities, community research, or cancer prevention is important because there are stories out there. Including my own.

You see, the fact that I am a middle-aged Black/African American male with a family history of cancer means I would probably qualify as high risk. It's a shame that my race/ethnicity already places us at risk for prostate cancer ON TOP of my own family history (my mother had breast cancer and my younger brother had Crohn’s disease).  But on top of each these things, I was diagnosed with an extremely rare medical condition known as atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (maybe 1 in 500,000 cases US?). It's a long story, but let’s just say I require immunotherapy every 8 weeks, I had kidney failure (almost), and this is a life-long thing. 

So, with so much at stake, it's safe to say that I would take health VERY seriously. I have the knowledge, the education, the understanding to know what "high risk" means. Out of all that, what drives me isn't necessarily my own story, but the stories of others I encounter. It is those stories COMBINED with my own that made me take the necessary precautions.

I knew that once I turned 40, it would be a good idea to get a PSA test done for prostate cancer screening. Why not? I mean, I can already give you a LONG list of reasons why I'm high risk right? So, it makes sense doesn't it? For me, it was simple. I didn't want to add another sickness to the list. A PSA test is just a simple blood test. For me, I get my blood drawn (prior to my chemo) every 8 weeks anyways, so I made it a point to bring up the conversation with my oncologist/hematologist. Her reply:

 "Really? You're so young... I can have it just added to your blood test, if you think that's what you like, but I see no cause for concern."

See, right there you can see that there is a lack of understanding culturally. As to me, she did not recognize the mere fact that me being 40 and a Black man already meant I was at higher risk. Not to mention my family history (as I mentioned earlier). Don't get me wrong, she's a fantastic doctor to me and I love her, but she just didn't see where I was coming from. Fortunately for her, since I'm in this line of work, I had the pleasure of breaking it down for her (but not in a mean way). She seemed to agree of course.

She was simply able to add this test to my current bloodwork. It was easy. Even if she hadn't taken blood already, it would have been another blood test and I got the results the same day!  The results of my test were fine. I was well within range, but the point is that I was screened. I have a baseline to go by at my age and I can easily monitor my situation going forward. This is coming from someone who does chemo/infusion therapy every 8 weeks (used to be every 2 weeks by the way). With all the odds, family history, and even my race/ethnicity stacked against me, I still chose to be diligent.

I want the men of our community out there to know, that getting this test is easy. Know the information. Screening is important. I even made a small video about my journey and I would even say the video was longer than the actual PSA test. The point is that it's good to know and to keep ourselves healthy. Sometimes we must be advocates for ourselves and our community. In my case, I wanted to do both. I continue to do both. Because I took it upon myself to get screened (during a treatment day for me by the way) I now have a peace of mind that I can share with everyone else. I've added another story to my toolbelt. It's my own story. It's all about combining the data with the stories remember?

The data and education here is that prostate cancer mortality rates are more than 2x those of every other race/ethnicity (according the American Cancer Society).  The story behind the data, is that I've met men who are my age, who have chosen to take that knowledge and get their PSA tests to screen for prostate cancer. I am also one of those men who did it. On top of this, I had compounding factors, but amid all those factors, I still managed to take that test and have that conversation with my doctor.

My work in public health and disparities causes me to approach issues of health equity, cancer-health disparities, and other unconscious racial bias issues with personal experiences. I try to relate to patients, advocates, and other researchers.  I was once part of that system that generates these inequities based on racism or certain biases in cancer care. What drives me is my passion for storytelling and combining education, data, and anecdotal evidence.

That's what drives me. So, my question to you is:

"What drives you?"  "What's your story?"

If I can get it done, you can too. For my Black/African American men out here, get screened for prostate cancer. Get your PSA test.  I would love to hear YOUR story… and thank you for listening to mine!

Dante’ Morehead