Prostate Cancer Survivors, Advocates Urge More Early Screening, Especially in the Black Community

By Rachel Crumpler Victor Taylor is proud to be known around New Bern as “Mr. Prostate Cancer Man.” That’s because ever since he was diagnosed with prostate cancer 18 years ago, he’s been a vocal force working to educate others on the disease. He doesn’t want to scare people, he wants to raise awareness — particularly among Black men, who are nearly two times more likely to develop prostate cancer than white men. He constantly urges men to get screened. To advocate for themselves with doctors. To take their health seriously — for themselves and for their families. “I’m going to talk prostate cancer until I can’t talk anymore,” Taylor said. Taylor’s diagnosis of prostate cancer at age 42 caught him by surprise. He said he had no symptoms and no family history of cancer. He didn’t even intentionally seek out getting screened. It was only at the last minute, after he’d taken dozens of other men to a prostate cancer screening event, that he decided to get tested himself. He’s glad he made that decision. The testing revealed that he had the disease. Fortunately, Taylor said, the cancer was detected early and he’s now living cancer-free. “You can survive,”...