By Deborah Bailey
AFRO Contributing Editor
As a health educator, Jesse Bennett was familiar with lab readings. All of his professional life, he has known the importance of annual blood screenings to check the health of his heart, lungs and every major system of his body, along with the range of scores signaling good health.
As Jesse entered his 40s, it was time to get a baseline PSA (prostate-specific antigen) and start paying attention to this annual measurement of male reproductive health.
For years, Jesse’s PSA levels came back reliably low. Until one year they didn’t.
Fast forward 16 years, two bouts with prostate cancer, and one serious setback later, Jesse now lives cancer-free and has had normal PSA readings for the past several years. But his experience as a two-time prostate cancer survivor led him to a mission to spread the news to every man he meets about taking their health seriously, learning the importance of the PSA test, and how to take an active role in speaking up for their own health.
“I always say to men I talk with about PSA tests: no one is going to take your health more seriously than you,” Bennett said. “You have to know your PSA score and know when there has been a change,” said Bennett. “If the doctor is not acknowledging your concerns or symptoms, you may need to get a second opinion. You have one life,” Bennett said.
Bennett, a Morgan State alum who studied health education, is now in his 70s. He is all too familiar with stories of men who waited until their physical symptoms were advanced before even telling anyone there was a problem. And then there are the brothers who didn’t know what a PSA test was and those who certainly weren’t having a doctor “touching them” below the beltline if they experienced symptoms.
“I was the one who originally approached my doctor and urged him to look further into my concerns,” Bennett said the year his PSA scores jumped to 5.8, an increase he had never seen.
At first, Bennett’s doctor wanted to take a wait-and-see approach, something common in the medical profession, according to the Mayo Clinic and American Cancer Society (ACS).
Other issues causing a high PSA score include a prostate infection or enlargement not involving cancer, according to the Mayo Clinic. A biopsy, a prostate ultrasound or prostate MRI can all be used to determine if cancer is present and if it has spread to other parts of the body if PSA tests repeatedly indicate that levels are too high.
According to data from the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network, “Black men in the US have among the highest documented prostate cancer incidence rate in the world, are over twice as likely to die from prostate cancer, and are more likely to be diagnosed at an advanced stage compared to non-Hispanic White men.”
Even in the case where prostate cancer is present, moving immediately toward surgery is not always the recommended treatment, according to the American Cancer Society.
For tumors that may be small or slow-growing, ACS recommends a “surveillance” or “watchful waiting” period when either a small or slow-growing tumor is present. Because Black Americans have twice the chance of developing prostate cancer, ACS recommends earlier and more frequent screenings and a combination of screenings and rectal exams when needed.
Bennett’s doctors recommended aggressive surgery after his initial biopsy in late 2009, because of concern that the cancer may spread to his bones. He remains grateful for his own understanding of the situation and that he pushed his doctors once he had abnormal PSA levels.
A family affair – stepping up to care for their main man
Once surgery came into the picture, the “I’ll get it done” Jesse Bennett let family into the picture. His oldest son, Sean, understood the importance of stepping up and connecting with medical providers as partners in the healing process.
“We (Black people) have an overt trust in the medical community that causes us, at times, to feel we don’t have the authority to question them. “In medical situations, if you exemplify a certain level of inquisitiveness and have astute questions for the medical personnel you are dealing with, they know they have to be on their toes.”
“As long as you are expressing yourself respectfully and care for your loved one, competent physicians want you to ask your questions and be fully informed,” Sean said.
Ultimately, Sean arranged to transfer his father’s care to an experienced surgeon at Johns Hopkins Medical Center. For both Jesse’s initial cancer surgery in 2009 and the return of his cancer in 2020, the surgeries went well with minimal treatment afterwards.
Prostate Cancer is a woman’s journey, too
Sheila Bennett, Jesse’s wife and partner, has been courtside for every moment of the past decade and a half, since Jesse’s original diagnosis of prostate cancer in 2009. Both husband and wife are community keepers of the church, and keep an active social life through their service organizations and extended family.
“When Jesse told me of the diagnosis of prostate cancer, I was dumbfounded. It was hard to fully comprehend, and, ultimately, hard to accept the fact that my husband could die as a result,” Sheila said. But then, as most Black women do, Sheila doubled down and got to work.
“I came to realize that I needed to be emotionally strong for him,” she said. “After learning more about the proper care and treatment for prostate cancer, including regular medical attention to the healthy numerical range that precludes the cancer, I sighed in relief that life can go on without cancer looming over your head.”
The Bennetts are a close family who today are even closer due to Jesse’s life-changing experience. Through regular checkups and screenings, Jesse is living out the best days of his life.
Sean summarized the family’s journey and reflected on future years for his dad.
“There’s never a good time for a cancer diagnosis, but there has never been a better time in our history. In this day and age, there are better screenings, better treatments, and better options for persons diagnosed with prostate or any cancer,” he said. “There really is the likelihood that when caught early, like my dad’s, there will be many more years yet to come.”