In conversation with Dr. Zachary Klaassen, Nakia Bennett shares how his extensive family history of prostate cancer motivated him to advocate for additional PSA testing. After his diagnosis, he sought multiple medical opinions to understand his treatment options, highlighting the importance of talking with your care team and shared decision-making. He also discusses his work raising prostate cancer awareness and encouraging others, particularly Black men, to advocate for their health.
Zach Klaassen:
Hi, my name is Zach Klaassen, urologic oncologist in Augusta, Georgia, and we are at the Prostate Cancer Foundation Scientific Retreat and discussing patient journeys on Prostate Cancer Patient Voices. I'm really excited to be joined by Nakia Bennett, who's a prostate cancer survivor. And we're going to talk about his journey and the importance of knowing your family history as you start your prostate cancer journey. Nakia, thanks so much for joining us on Prostate Cancer Patient Voices.
Nakia Bennett:
Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.
Zach Klaassen:
So you are number 12 or 13 in your family with prostate cancer. Just talk to us about how that came to be, how that sort of shaped your journey with PSA screening, just to start us off.
Nakia Bennett:
Well, I mean, initially I didn't realize that I was number 13. I knew of some family members who had prostate cancer, but I didn't realize it was so extensive. Once I was diagnosed and the word kind of got out that I also have prostate cancers, then other family members would tell me, "Hey, I had that too." And I'm like, "Well, why didn't you tell me anything? Why didn't you say anything so I can go get screened and I can keep on top of my PSAs?" But the conversation was just lost after that.
Zach Klaassen:
Yeah. So there's maybe somebody out there, young man like yourself who has a family history. How do they advocate for themselves to get that PSA test and to push for that? Because I know you did a lot of that in your early journey.
Nakia Bennett:
Well, I had to advocate for myself in the beginning because initially my PSA was only 4.2. The limit is four. And my doctor did not want to retest me. And I demanded to get retested. And again, I was denied and I, "Either you're going to retest me or I'm going to find someone who will, but I'm going to get retested. I have a family history." And she said, "Okay, we can wait two months, then you can be retested." We waited the two month period and went back and I was retested and my PSA rose from a 4.2 to a 4.4. So then I was referred to urology after that.
Zach Klaassen:
Walk us through that next part of the journey. So PSA is 4.4. What happened in the urology office, that next part of the journey?
Nakia Bennett:
Well, I had a conversation with the urologist and because of my extensive family history, he said, let's do a biopsy. So I didn't even get the MRI until after I was actually diagnosed that I got the MRI. So I did the biopsy. I waited to meet with the doctor to get the results. And sadly, in getting my results, the doctor walks in, he has his paper in his hand, and in one breath before you can even sit down, he's like, "We got the results of your biopsy. You have cancer." And after that, I don't remember anything he said.
Zach Klaassen:
And that's an important point. Can you talk to the point of close follow-ups after that? I often tell my patients, "You're probably not going to remember everything I tell you after this, but we're going to have a follow-up to go over everything again once you've had time to digest it." Just maybe talk about the importance of those subsequent close follow-ups to really get the plan in place.
Nakia Bennett:
I had to come to the terms that I actually have cancer.
Zach Klaassen:
Sure.
Nakia Bennett:
And meeting with another doctor and discussing options, none of the options sounded great to me. I didn't want to do any of it. One thing I did know, I did not want the cancer inside of me. So active surveillance for me was off the table. But before I made a decision about what I was going to do, I spoke to no less than six doctors so I can get a full understanding of what was going on and what needed to be done, the recovery, the side effects, the long-term prognosis and everything before I decided to ultimately have surgery.
Zach Klaassen:
That's great. I think it's an important message too. I think a lot of people have that first or second discussion, they feel like they got to rush to do something. Just walk us through a little more detail with that. Because that's important, you got to know all your options, time to think about it, time to get different opinions, active surveillance, surgery, radiation. Just talk about just taking a step back and really taking time to make a right decision.
Nakia Bennett:
Yeah. Despite being number 13 in my family, I went into just totally blind. I knew nothing about prostate cancer other than it was cancer of the prostate. I knew nothing about the treatment options until speaking with those doctors. And in addition to speaking with the doctors, I also kind of did a deep dive. I read some medical journals, YouTube videos, ChatGPT, Google. I did my own research and I started charting out what was going on, what was the possible outcome of the various treatments. And initially it was all overwhelming to me. There was not one place I could go to get everything that I needed, which really would've been beneficial. And then I was also looking for something that specifically spoke to Black men, and I really didn't find any information on that as well. So that would've been helpful in the process as well.
Zach Klaassen:
For sure. Tell me a little bit about the advocacy you've done since then. I know you're an advocate for prostate cancer survivors. You mentioned young Black men like yourself. What's that journey look like in terms of being an advocate now that you're on the other side of it?
Nakia Bennett:
That's actually an interesting journey because, because of prostate cancer I am doing something that I never thought I'd be doing. I've always wanted it and I always wanted to feel as if I had a purpose. What was my purpose? Yeah, I'm a father, I'm a son, I'm a brother and so on, but why am I here? And I could never find anything that just kind of stuck with me and made me feel good about what I was doing until I started advocating for prostate cancer awareness.
And initially I was contacted by a local magazine, local health magazine. They did an article on me. Lo and behold, I ended up on the cover of the magazine. I didn't even know. I've gone to Washington DC. I've advocated with the American Cancer Society, Cancer Action Network. We did our leadership summit and lobby day up in DC two weeks ago. Next week when I return back to Florida, I'll be at the Black Men's Wellness Day in Tampa.
Zach Klaassen:
Awesome.
Nakia Bennett:
I'm here with the Prostate Cancer Foundation in California. So it's taking me places and I'm doing things I never thought I'd do.
Zach Klaassen:
Yeah. Amazing. As we wrap up, what's the message to people out there that are facing this and need information? Your story is going to affect and help a lot of people out there because they're hearing it from you. What would your message to them be?
Nakia Bennett:
My biggest message would be advocate for yourself. Go get tested. It's a simple blood test. It doesn't hurt. It can be combined with other blood tests.
Zach Klaassen:
Sure.
Nakia Bennett:
So go get tested. You can't bury your head in the sand. It's not going to go away just because you don't want to do it. And cancer affects everyone. It doesn't matter your background, it doesn't matter what college you went to, what your income is, it affects everyone. And one in eight men are going to be diagnosed. And if you're looking at the Black population, one in six Black men. If you're a veteran, that knocks it down to one in five, one in four. So if you're a Black veteran, that's like one in three. So the probability is pretty high. So go get tested. Early detection is the key.
Zach Klaassen:
100%. And it's a great opportunity for me just to mention the Prostate Cancer Foundation screening guidelines for Black men is 45 years of age. So don't wait till you're 50, get it at 45.
Nakia Bennett:
Definitely.
Zach Klaassen:
Nakia, fantastic message. Thanks so much for joining us here in California on Prostate Cancer Patient Voices and for sharing your story.
Nakia Bennett:
Again, thank you for having me.
Zach Klaassen:
Thank you.
Nakia Bennett:
I appreciate the opportunity.
This interview was produced with the generous support of AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals