Army veteran Nakia Bennett urges men to speak up & advocate for their health.
by SHAYLYNN MARKS
photo by GLENDA HOLCOMB
When Nakia Bennett of Lakeland checked his lab results last May, he was not expecting to find the first sign of prostate cancer.
Bennett, who has Graves’ disease, has bloodwork done every four to six months. During his routine labs, his primary care doctor included a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test because of his age. The result came back at 4.2, slightly above the range Bennett understood to be normal.
When the Army veteran asked to be retested, Bennett said he was initially told the elevated result was likely a spike and could be checked again in a year. He pushed back.
“One of my biggest fears in life is going to a doctor for a problem that I’ve been having, that I’ve been putting off, and hearing that doctor say, ‘Mr. Bennett, there’s nothing else that we can do for you,’” Bennett says. “If something doesn’t feel right, I go get checked out because I want to know why.”
Two months later, his PSA had risen to 4.4, prompting a referral to a urologist. By October, following a biopsy, Bennett received the news.
“[The doctor] walks in with these papers in his hands and all in one breath, before he can even sit down, it’s like, ‘We got your lab results back on your biopsy. You have cancer,’” Bennett says.
The Weight of the Word
Bennett, who had just turned 51 four days earlier, is the 11th person in his family to face the diagnosis.
“My father was in his mid-70s when he got diagnosed,” Bennett says. “My grandfather was living in his 80s when he got diagnosed. So I wasn’t expecting anything this early.”
Dr. Kenneth Essig, a board-certified urologist with BayCare Medical Group in Winter Haven, says those with “a first-degree relative with prostate cancer” are among those most at risk for developing the disease.
Essig says men should typically start getting screened for prostate cancer at age 50. But, he adds, for men with a family history, screening should start at 45.
After his doctor said cancer, Bennett says he couldn’t absorb the rest of the conversation.
“We must have talked for another 45 minutes to an hour, and I don’t remember any part of the conversation,” Bennett says. “I remember absolutely nothing. And then when I left his office, I went out, sat in my truck, and I just cried.”
Making Tough Decisions
After his diagnosis, Bennett underwent additional scans and bloodwork. He met with several physicians and weighed surgery against radiation.
He researched heavily, joined support groups, read medical information and made spreadsheets. By the time he decided to have surgery, he said he had spoken with six doctors through Lakeland Regional Health, the VA and Moffitt Cancer Center.
“The patient and their urologist will decide together” which treatment path is best, Essig says. “The decision has to be individualized to the patient’s age, the patient’s health and the aggressiveness of the cancer.”
Bennett chose surgery and had his prostate removed Feb. 28 at Moffitt Cancer Center. Before surgery, Bennett had already started preparing for recovery by doing Kegel exercises to strengthen his pelvic floor.
“I started doing Kegels early on, all day, every day,” he says. “I would set an alarm on my phone, like, every two hours.”
The decision and preparation helped him shift into a sense of determination.
“The depression started to leave,” he remembers. “I went into surgery knowing that I was going to be okay on the other side.”
Recovery and Aftercare
After his prostate was removed, Bennett wore a catheter for seven days and dealt with bladder spasms, incontinence, and pelvic floor therapy as part of recovery. The full recovery is expected to take 12 to 18 months.
A couple months after surgery, his first post-surgery PSA result came back at 0.04, which Bennett says is considered undetectable by standard testing.
“You want that confirmation, you want that victory,” he says. “This is where I want to be.”
For Bennett, recovery has also meant accepting support. An online prostate cancer support group gave him a place to hear from men, spouses, and loved ones who spoke openly about incontinence, erectile dysfunction, and the emotions that follow treatment.
Breaking the Silence
Even with prostate cancer on both sides of his family, Bennett says no one had prepared him for the fear, decisions or recovery that came with the diagnosis.
“I just wish men would talk in general — prostate cancer, mental health, other illnesses and ailments that they’re going through,” he says. “We’ve been taught to believe that holding our stuff in makes us strong, which is just the opposite.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, black men are at increased risk for getting or dying from prostate cancer. They are more than twice as likely to die from it and tend to be diagnosed at a younger age.
“Prostate cancer is almost never associated with any symptoms until it has spread considerably,” Essig says. “That is why PSA testing is so important.”
Bennett has already urged his male cousins and family members to get screened.
“You can’t bury your head in the sand and think it’s just going to go away,” he says. “It’s not.”
Now, only months after surgery, Bennett wants his story to help someone else feel less alone.
“You have to advocate for your health and your well-being,” he emphasizes. “Don’t be afraid to reach out. Don’t be afraid to talk about what you’re going through.”