I am a Black man diagnosed with prostate cancer. This is my story.
- - I am a Black man diagnosed with prostate cancer. This is my story.
Jerry McCormick, Special to USA TODAYFebruary 8, 2026 at 9:00 AM
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Thirty-eight years ago, I was initiated into the oldest and one of the largest Black fraternities in the world: Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. It was one of the happiest days of my life. In September 2025, I joined another fraternity, and that’s Black men diagnosed with prostate cancer. It’s one I never wanted to join, and unfortunately, I am a member for life.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosis in men, accounting for 30% of male cancers in 2025, and is the second most common cancer in men behind skin cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. The group also estimates more than 300,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2026, and more than 36,000 men will die.
I knew something was wrong when I had trouble emptying my bladder. One night, I went to the bathroom 12 times.
My nurse practitioner ordered a PSA test, or protein specific antigen, which measures a chemical produced by the prostate in your bloodstream. The benchmark I was told was 4. Mine came back at 18.
After freaking out for a bit, we conducted further testing, including an MRI and a biopsy in late August 2025. I found out the results on a day I was supposed to be happy.
"I knew something was wrong when I had trouble emptying my bladder," writes Jerry McCormick. "One night, I went to the bathroom 12 times."
It was Saturday, Sept. 13, and I was about to attend a concert in Las Vegas to see my favorite artist, Janet Jackson, whom I’ve seen more than 30 times. I was leaving for the show when my phone dinged with an email.
I looked down and saw the test results had come in. I decided I needed to proceed with my evening and then look later. While I enjoyed the show, something kept gnawing at the back of my mind. When I returned to the hotel room and looked, my worst fear came true. I spent the rest of the night using my journalism skills, researching online and listening to videos from other men who had the disease.
It’s here that I recognized how lucky I was with this revelation. Now I knew what was wrong and what I could do about it.
A few days later, on Sept. 17, I was sitting in a surgeon’s office going over the options I had, which were radiation or surgery. I chose surgery because I wanted this out of my body. I may face incontinence and erectile dysfunction. I must admit I was concerned about the ED portion, but a fraternity brother who also had prostate cancer told me, "Dead people don’t have sex," and that helped me make up my mind.
In case you missed: Lloyd Austin didn’t want to share his prostate cancer struggle. Many men feel similarly.
Prostate cancer recovery and what happens next
From my research, I learned that Black men are often not checked as often for prostate cancer because we don’t know to ask or doctors may not think to ask us about our prostate health. We must stay on top of this and not find out too late.
On Jan. 6, 2026, I had my surgery. I’m not going to lie, it hurt, and it hurt badly.
I had to have my abdomen cut open; the surgeon had to access my prostate that way instead of the robotic way. I spent three days in the hospital and then had to return due to an infection and more complications less than a week later.
My recovery has been rough. I wore a catheter for more than a week. Changed the dressing for my wounds daily. My energy levels are all over the place.
One minute, I can take on the world; the next minute, I can barely walk across the room. My appetite has come and gone. But the mental part is the hardest.
It’s the quiet moments that seem to get me. "Will I die? What’s going to happen to my husband? What is death like? Did I do everything I wanted to do?"
When those thoughts come, I remember to think positively and stay in the sunlight. Therapy is helping.
But now it’s time to write a new chapter of my life: Jerry McCormick, prostate cancer survivor. Survival rates are improving as more people begin to get tested. But we still have a long way to go. I’m ready for the journey.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Prostate cancer, Black men and what we need to talk about
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