February is Black History Month, a time to celebrate the achievements of African Americans around the world, but also an opportunity to spotlight a recent study highlighting the deeply concerning disparity between black men’s prostate health compared to other men here in the U.S. African American men have the highest prostate cancer morbidity and mortality rates among any other racial or ethnic group, and although these statistics may be alarming, there is also good news to share from this recent study.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) Journal’s study confirmed that screening and access to the medical system leads to better health outcomes for prostate cancer for African American men, and recent improvements in screening are also fostering higher survivability rates. These tools are essential to combating cancer and promoting real advances in cancer care overall. The study found that there is no racial prevalence in men diagnosed with prostate cancer, but rather the access to care is the important determinant of racial equity.

So why is there a disparity?

Harry Belafonte is an American singer, songwriter, activist, actor and one of the most successful Jamaican-American pop stars in history. He has been involved in prostate cancer advocacy since 1996 when he was diagnosed and successfully treated for the disease. Belafonte explains: “The prostate is something that attacks that central part of the male body that men are very preoccupied with. Somehow, any disorder there means your life is over, you can’t be a man anymore, you are now something less,” however, he continued, “If you’re going to have [prostate cancer], you’re going to have it. It’s what you do about it that makes the difference — how you conduct your life.”

What Mr. Belafonte is stressing is that prostate cancer can happen whether you get a screening or not. Avoiding the medical system doesn’t deter cancer from happening, it just lets it fester until it is too late. Action is vital to the successful treatment, recovery and survivability of prostate cancer. Don’t wait, get a screening today.