Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

To help, he tells of his prostate cancer

Rev. Manuel Sykes tries to reach other black men before it's too late. He is urging testing.

By WAVENEY ANN MOORE
Published April 2, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - The service was coming to a close, a crescendo of exuberant worship and powerful preaching lulled to a quieter tone.

Closing words and a benediction usually follow, but what came next stunned most.

"I've been diagnosed with prostate cancer," the Rev. Manuel Sykes told his congregation at Bethel Community Baptist Church.

"I told them I have no fear, that God has been good to me," said Sykes, who has led the predominantly African American church for 14 years.

Church member Dorothy Harris, 75, said, "We all just came and went down by him. He had just come out of the pulpit ... and we kneeled down by him and prayed."

The news spread quickly among the congregation of 550 - exactly what Sykes wanted. His decision to go public with what many people consider a private illness was deliberate.

"My concern is that African American males don't wait until it's too late, that they don't fear impotency, because it is not always the final result," said Sykes, 50.

African American men are more likely than white males to get prostate cancer and less likely to have successful treatment outcomes, according to the American Cancer Society.

"Prostate cancer will affect 1 in 11 Caucasian American men, but one in nine African American men," said Dr. David A. Burks, a urologist at the Vattikuti Urology Institute at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit.

The reason for the disparity is not clear, he said.

"There is a high suspicion that a high fat diet may be implicated in prostate cancer," said Burks, an African American whose father and grandfather both had the disease.

Sykes said he is speaking up in the hopes that others will get tested. Since announcing his illness, Sykes said he has discovered that many men, including acquaintances, have been secretive about their battles with prostate cancer. In the past couple of months, men and their wives quietly have offered encouragement and advice, he said.

- - -

Sykes, a newlywed, was diagnosed 10 days after he married Cleopatra Fowler, 33, a single mother he met during a trip to the Bahamas.

"If I had found out I was sick, I would never have married anybody," he said.

Sykes speaks candidly about the problems that led to his Jan. 10 diagnosis. They started about two years ago with frequent nighttime urination. He got a prescription to control the problem.

"As I started to try to wean myself off the medicine, I found out that I couldn't urinate at all, so I went to see a urologist," he said.

Dr. Kenneth Bryant performed a standard test for prostate cancer, called a PSA, which measures a protein produced by the prostate gland, and a rectal exam. That first test was not a cause for concern, but another in January led Bryant to order a biopsy, which revealed the cancer.

Sykes' brother, who is a family doctor in Jacksonville, recommended that he seek treatment at the Vattikuti Urology Institute in Detroit, where doctors use a robotic surgical device to remove the prostate.

Complications can include erectile dysfunction and incontinence, Burks said, which is why many men are too embarrassed to discuss their illness.

"The prostate is a male sexual organ, because of that, men don't like to talk about it and ... most men who do know about the prostate, know that the examination is a digital rectal exam," he said. "It is uncomfortable."

African American men also may have culture specific fears, said Bryant, Sykes' St. Petersburg physician.

"One may be fear of the health care system," he said. "One may be fear of having cancer and the other is the macho image that men don't get sick."

The most important message, one that Sykes is helping spread, is that early detection saves lives, said Bryant, who is African American and has organized a local prostate cancer support group.

- - -

Sykes had surgery on March 15. Less than two weeks later, he was back in church.

He continues to share his personal battle with church members and anyone else who will listen.

Lillian Jones, 79, known as Mother Jones by members of the church at 2901 54th Ave. S, recalled a conversation she had with Sykes before his surgery.

"Being a cancer patient myself, I said to him, 'I'll keep you in my prayers,' " Jones said.

Sykes, who said he is touched by the congregation's concern, recalled its reaction to his revelation.

"Some of them became emotional, all of them were very supportive," he said. "I didn't have anybody to act as though there was some kind of a, I guess, for lack of a better word, a curse. You know how it is, some church people, any time you have a problem, it spooks them and they run from you until they see what God's going to do with you and they come back after the dust settles."

Over the years, Sykes, the father of three adult children, has become well known in the community as a spokesman for African American concerns. He led protests against Tyrone Square Mall in 2000 after his son was ejected for wearing a cap sideways. Seven years later, he proudly mentions that Ephraim, now 21, will graduate in May from Fordam University in New York.

In St. Petersburg's Lakewood community, Sykes became a lightning rod when he tried to sell his church's property to Wal-Mart.

He also has faced numerous personal challenges. In 2001, his second wife left him, he said, and some church members followed. He then struggled financially.

But there have been triumphs as well.

Besides heading Bethel Community, one of the city's prominent African American churches, Sykes was selected a year ago to head the St. Petersburg Theological Seminary, a small interdenominational college founded in 1983.

Now, Sykes is looking for ways to cut back on his schedule. But saying is easier than doing. This week he plans to preach at a three-day revival at his cousin's church in Oakland Park.

Sykes said he finds solace in the pulpit and plans to weave his illness into the revival sermons.

"For me, preaching is therapeutic," he said. "As I go through the process of recovery, I am feeling the need to connect some of my experience with God's word."

For now, Sykes hasn't had any problems with incontinence, but he worries about regaining his sexual function.

"I gave my wife the option of an annulment," he said. "I'm not going to trap anybody into a marriage that is less than satisfactory."

She wouldn't hear of it, he said.

By being open about the illness and all its ramifications, Sykes hopes to set an example for others and help dispel any stigmas surrounding the disease.

"I've had some serious ups and downs, but God has never forsaken me. And to the day I leave this earth, I'm going to glorify him," he said. "I am going to declare victory, because it's not always about physical life. It's about a spirit that can never be destroyed."

Waveney Ann Moore can be reached at 727-892-2283 or moore@sptimes.com.

Where to find help

-The American Cancer Society recommends that all men over 50 be tested yearly for prostate cancer. Men with a high risk, which includes African American men, should be screened yearly, starting at age 45.

-There are several prostate cancer support groups in the Tampa Bay area. To find one, call 1-800-227-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.

-Brother 2 Brother, a support group offered by the Prostate Cancer Network, is at community locations in Tampa. Call 813 745-1808.

[Last modified April 1, 2007, 22:25:59]