Sportscaster Brian Custer was at the pinnacle of his career covering college football and basketball for Fox Sports when a free prostate cancer screening at work changed everything. “The doctor said, ‘Listen, there’s no easy way to tell you this, Brian, but you’ve got cancer and it’s aggressive’.” Just 40 years old at the time, Custer was told if he didn’t get surgery immediately, he may be dead within two years.
Like many others, Custer was unaware that he was at much higher risk than the general population of developing prostate cancer. “I had no idea the rate that prostate cancer was affecting Black men — I had none,” says Custer.
Custer, who after surgery and radiation is now fully in remission, has used his experience to spread awareness in the Black community, becoming a spokesperson for the Prostate Cancer Foundation as well.
“Every time I go to the doctor now I always post it on social media. I use the same thing, ‘Men get checked because it could save your life — it saved mine,’” says Custer. “Even if we save one person, that’s enough for me.”
See “Famed sportscaster speaks out about being diagnosed with prostate cancer — which is more likely to kill Black men” by Abby Haglage on the Yahoo! Sports website (September 29, 2020)
