In the midst of a career comeback, Charlie Wilson, famed Gap Band frontman, was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He battled back and is now a spokesperson for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Sitting down with Mark Anthony Neal of NewBlackMan, he discussed his experience and what men need to do with regard to prostate health:
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"NBM: I read some information that said that before the age of 40, most men have a 1-in-10,000 chance of being diagnosed with Prostate cancer, but that that numbers increase to 1 in 38 between the ages of 40 and 59. In your case, was this something that you were thinking about? Were you getting exams? Or were you just doing “Charlie Wilson”?Uncle Charlie: Naw, I wasn’t getting exams, although when I was a teenager I used to get those exams and I remember I used to hate it. As an adult I wouldn’t go to the doctor for those exams and I knew nothing about prostate cancer at all. All I knew is the exam shied me away from getting checked for anything.NBM: That’s real, I imagine in the times that you’ve had to talk about prostate cancer have you had to deal with men who were a little skittish about having the exam because of previous experiences with it or fears of what it might be like?Uncle Charlie: Yeah, I sit in on community panels and groups and a brother was like “tell us what really going on with it” and I really didn’t understand where he was coming from and I was like “dude it hurts like hell” and everybody started laughing. I got a chance to talk to a lot of guys and tell them “just got get a checkup” and one homeboy was like “man I don’t know…exit only, exit only” (laughter). But seriously, I found out last month about a case that was 27 years-old, that’s crazy."
Read the rest of the interview on NewBlackMan
Fellas, get checked. Pride isn't worth an early dirt nap.
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