GREENSBORO, N.C. — Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men. According to the American Cancer Society about 30,000 men each year will die from the disease and black men are twice as likely to get and die from it.
That's why doctors say early screening helps decrease your risk.
68-year-old Charlz Henry has a passion for making people look and feel their best. He's a cosmetologist and educator in Greensboro, the city he's known his entire life.
"I was in school went to a job fair and I was intrigued by the school that was there. I asked a lot of questions and she said you sound like you’re very interested in doing this," Charlz Henry said.
He and his students not only talk about skin and hair but also about staying healthy.
"We educate our clients about hair, heart health we have discussions about health things," Henry said.
Health is a topic that sits close to his heart after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2022.
"I had to navigate my way through," Henry said.
He said he wouldn't have known he had the disease if it wasn't for him experiencing a stroke that led him to the hospital.
Doctors noticed his lab work results were off track and spotted the cancer through a prostate-specific antigen or PSA test.
"I had the biopsy and it came back positive that I did have the cancer. I had to go through the process and I was given some options," Henry said.
Prostate cancer is a disease of the prostate that impacts older men.
Dr. Ted Manny, a Urologist with Cone Health, said it is more common and more deadly in black men.
"We don't exactly understand why that is but there are several factors that clearly play into it--one unfortunately there are some racial disparities and access to health care and treatment--the other is there are genetic differences in black men that make them more prone to the disease," Dr. Manny said.
He said symptoms include blood in the urine, difficulty with urination or sometimes unexplained weight loss.
"Unfortunately when prostate cancer is symptomatic that means that it has already spread to other places that's why we like to screen for it and catch it before symptoms," Dr. Manny said.
Dr. Manny said it’s important to have conversations with your doctor about screening by age 45.
"That’s the key thing I caught it early," Henry said.
Because Henry found out about the cancer before it got worse he was able to immediately get treated and is now cancer free.
"I would say that I’m doing well because even though I have a few after effects things like, I’m tired sometimes because radiation does that, but overall I’m doing good. I’m doing very good," Henry said.
Now, Henry makes it his mission to spread awareness through cosmetology school, so he can help people get the care they need one step at a time.