DJ and music promoter, Godfrey Fletcher, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2015 at the age of 47, shortly after his father was also diagnosed with the same disease. Since then, Godfrey has made it his mission to raise awareness and advocate for early testing, particularly among black men.
I was very lucky that my cancer was picked up at a very early stage. At the time, I was young and fit - I felt nothing wrong, I had no symptoms.
For my father, it was a different story.
Unbeknown to me, he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, as had a friend of mine. By chance, the two met while waiting for treatment and started talking. They were able to connect with each other as black men going through the same experience. They realised that they had me in common and suddenly panicked as neither had told me about their diagnosis and were afraid of me finding out. Talking about cancer in the black community is still taboo for so many people.
My friend called me and casually suggested that I should get a health check-up. Later that evening my sister – who was aware of my father’s diagnosis and realised there could be a potential genetic connection – also called and suggested I should think about getting a check-up. Neither mentioned prostate cancer at this point.
By now, I was suspicious about what had brought on all these calls, and when I questioned my sister about it, she told me about my dad’s diagnosis. At that time, I had never even heard of prostate cancer.
I decided to follow her advice and went to my GP to request a PSA test which is used to help check for prostate conditions. Initially, the doctor was reluctant to test me because I was young and had no symptoms. It was only when I explained that my father had been diagnosed that he reluctantly agreed to go ahead.
My PSA level came back raised (level 5) and I was told it would need further investigation. I had more checks, a scan and biopsy – and was surprised to be told that I had early-stage prostate cancer that would likely develop into full-blown disease within several years.
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‘I wanted to stay positive’
My consultant surgeon expected me to be shocked, but it is not in my nature to panic. I wanted to stay positive and wanted to know what the next steps would be. If there was a problem, I wanted to know the solution. The consultant surgeon explained my treatment options – which included radiotherapy, or surgery to have my prostate removed, or active monitoring alongside medication. He suggested I went away to think about it for two weeks before returning to him with my decision about how to proceed.
I didn’t need any time to think. I decided then and there what I wanted to do. I opted for surgery to have my prostate removed. I was young and fit, and this way, I would save myself the stress and worry about it going forward.
The surgery took place a few months later, but I also needed a course of radiotherapy to ensure that any stray cancer cells would be destroyed. I had 36 rounds of radiotherapy over a six-week period. For me, the hardest part about it was the diet I had to follow over this period and the fact that I had to have a full bladder for each session. I had regular PSA tests every three weeks – and could see that my level was starting to fall. A year after treatment finished, my PSA level was 0.1 and at this point, I was told it had all been successful.
‘I don’t worry about my cancer anymore’
I have been fine since. I’m more aware of my health now – I have changed my diet and do more exercise. I realise now what is good for me and I know how to listen to my body. Going through radiotherapy made me tired, but I learned to eat differently to raise my energy levels. My PSA levels remained consistently low for five years, so I am no longer monitored regularly and I’m just getting on with leading a healthy life.
Music has been my therapy during all this. It has helped me through my diagnosis and kept me focused and mentally strong.
I don’t worry about my cancer anymore. Instead, I have used my experience to raise awareness and get the message across to men, particularly in the black community who are more at risk of developing prostate cancer, that they need to get themselves checked. The more I talk to people about my experience, the more I realise how common it is. It’s like when you buy a new coat – you think you are the only one to wear it and then suddenly you see loads of other people wearing exactly the same one!
‘My dad never spoke about his diagnosis’
My dad was going through his prostate cancer experience at the same time as me, but he did not talk to me about it at all. I didn’t know what stage he was at until much later. It’s my experience that lots of black men don’t want to talk about these things. They don’t want to know or face what is really going on. My dad dealt with his cancer in the opposite way to me - while I spoke about it openly, he would not talk about it. He felt he was still the main man, as the head of the family, and he could not discuss his sickness.
I later found out that he had been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. He had left it too late for surgery but was treated with radiotherapy. Afterwards his PSA level went down and he thought he was alright. But sometime later, he started having pains in his shoulder. Initially, he thought it was arthritis, but when his PSA levels went sky high, it was found that his cancer had spread. He went downhill after that and passed away at the age of 80.
I was never frightened watching my dad go through everything. I tried to stay positive. I tried my hardest to encourage him to talk to me about what he was going through, explaining to him that he was my role model. I wanted to break the cycle of silence and actually talk about what we were both going through. He never wanted to know how much time he had left, but shortly before he passed away, he finally acknowledged the situation, telling me: ‘This is a bad disease… you’re going to live, I’m going to die…’
‘Prostate cancer runs in my family’
The one thing I believe in life is that you should never leave a path of destruction behind you. That is why I have resolved to talk about everything.
Prostate cancer runs in my family, but previous generations did not discuss it. My grandfather also had it, but he would just say that he had ‘problems with his waterworks’. I have two sons, aged 31 and 27, but I am not concerned for them because they are aware of everything, and they know about the importance of being checked. They have seen me go through prostate cancer and they know what to expect and the need to push for early diagnosis.
At the moment, the system makes it so difficult to request early testing or regular monitoring. This needs to change – I believe it should be automatic and compulsory. Men - and especially black men - should all be routinely tested.
‘We need more options for diagnosing and treating prostate cancer’
After my experience and as I get older, I want to know more. We need to understand more about prostate cancer and why it is so aggressive in the black community. We need more research into this to be able to find solutions. We need more research into prostate cancer full-stop.
Early diagnosis and early detection is so important. My story was very different to my dad’s because my disease was caught at an earlier stage.
We need more options for diagnosing and treating prostate cancer. More people should support research into the disease as it will save lives. I welcome any scientific advances that will take the fear away and give people hope.
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