“I
was just doing a routine annual checkup and my wife insisted on me
doing the PSA test.” That’s how funk legend Charlie Wilson came to find
out he had prostate cancer. The sobering news brought home a few
realities for the former Gap Band frontman. “African American men, we
don’t like to go to the doctor,” says Wilson. “We definitely don’t like
to get the prostate checkup.” After taking the test, Wilson’s results
raised a red flag. “My doctor was concerned, [so] they sent me to a
specialist and the specialist called me in and said these numbers are
staggering, and they did a biopsy on me and [afterward] said they
wanted to have a talk with me and my wife. He said you have prostate
cancer; the good news it’s early detection.”
As the singer releases his latest album, Uncle Charlie,
he’s decided to take his celebrity and share his story with other
African American men who could face a similar prognosis. “I’ve done a
lot of performing — now it’s time for me to do some informing,”
he says with a laugh. “You just need to get in there and get a blood
test. You need to know your family history. There [are] a lot of things
that’s wrong with us and we don’t know because we’re afraid of going to
the doctor. Early detection is the key – I got early detected and
that’s the reason why I’m here.”
The urging of his wife,
the caution of his physician and early detection gave Wilson a new
lease on life. Wilson is forever grateful for that chance; not only
because it probably saved his life, but it gave him an opportunity to
save others. He’s also grateful to his wife for insisting he get
tested. “She has been my backbone. She dragged me to the doctor,” he
says. “We don’t like to go get the prostate exam, but [women] have to
get a mammogram, and you don’t hear them crying about [it]! We need to
stop wimping out and go to the doctor. She keeps me motivated, she
keeps me singing, she keeps me doing a lot of things. I give thanks to
God and to her.”
