Bravo TV and The Real Housewives of Atlanta star Dwight Eubanks announced he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in April 2025, raising awareness of an important issue: Black men have a higher incidence of prostate cancer and prostate cancer mortality, according to data from the World Journal of Men’s Health.
Post-diagnosis, Eubanks is advocating for Black men to get screened and championing awareness through an ambassadorship with ZERO Prostate Cancer.
What are the chances?
“I discovered it by accident.” Eubanks says. “We hosted a health fair at my church in January, and I just happened to go over and get a PSA done. And it came back high, elevated.”
Eubanks says he was shocked because he had frequently visited the doctor, and his doctor never mentioned an elevated PSA (prostate-specific antigen). Eubanks’ story is common and highlights the likelihood of men being diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Research shows that one in eight men will get prostate cancer, and Jude Emokpare, a physician and oncology hospitalist, confirms the data. He sees prostate cancer patients and is part of an advocacy organization called The Strada Foundation, which helps promote prostate cancer screening for Black men.
“The current numbers that we work with estimate about one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, and in Black men, it’s actually one in six,” Emokpare says.
“Unfortunately, for Black men, the odds are stacked against us. We tend to have a higher risk of multiple kinds of diseases, including cancers,” he explains. “Our genetic makeup alone is a factor that you don’t have control over.”
Emokpare says socioeconomic status is also a factor in why more Black men get prostate cancer. If they live in an under-resourced neighborhood, their access to health care services is limited. They are either not screened at all or screened late in the disease process.
“There’s lots of men… in their 50s and 60s who haven’t even had a PSA test done,” Emokpare says.
Eubanks says it’s essential for Black men to visit the doctor and undergo screenings. “It’s really crucial… particularly in the African American community,” he says.
When should you get screened for prostate cancer?
Getting screened for prostate cancer may help you catch it early. The five-year survival rate for localized prostate cancer that hasn’t spread beyond the prostate is 99%, according to WebMD. Regular PSA blood tests combined with digital rectal exams are a common screening method.
“Men should get screened at least once a year, and the recommendations vary,” Emokpare says. “Typically, we say every man 50 years old and above should get screened. But we get more specific for [high-risk] individuals, and we say, ‘You start screening as early as 40 years.’”
According to the American Cancer Society, men should be screened starting at age 50 if they’re of average risk and expected to live at least another 10 years. If they’re Black or have a first-degree relative (father or brother, for example) who was diagnosed with prostate cancer at an early age (younger than 65), they should start screenings at 45.
If a man has more than one first-degree relative who had prostate cancer at an early age, he should be screened annually starting at age 40.
How to lower your risk for prostate cancer
Although prostate cancer can’t be prevented for sure, according to the American Cancer Society, men can take action to lower their risk, including:
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Being physically active
- Maintaining a healthy diet including a variety of fruits and vegetables and whole grains while avoiding or limiting red and processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages and highly processed foods
Emokpare also recommends men quit smoking. “We counsel people a lot about the risks of tobacco use,” he says. “It increases your risk of so many things: heart disease, strokes and several [types] of cancer.”
Eubanks says he encourages men, especially Black men, to get screened and get information about prostate cancer. “The stigma of having to go up the rectum to check the prostate—those days are over with,” he says. “It’s a simple process, a matter of just giving blood and getting your results.”
Photo by angellodeco/Shutterstock.
