September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.
SIU-Carbondale alumnus and civil rights icon Charles Neblett is putting his face to a new national initiative #blackprostatecancercheckchallenge. He is currently battling stage 4 prostate cancer.
For more on his fundraiser, click here.
“Delyte W. Morris’ willingness to become a white ally back then wasn’t easy. What l learned during my experience at SIU was a catalyst for joining the national movement with SNCC in 1961” said Neblett. “I was so inspired I used my voice to become a charter member of "The Freedom Singers," where we sang at marches, picket lines, Carnegie Hall, Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals, churches, and prisons across 40 states. I was arrested 27 times.”
During the historic 1963 March on Washington, Neblett led marchers in their anthem songs at the close of Dr. Martin Luther King's famous speech.
Neblett passes his civil rights legacy to the next generation as he battles prostate cancer. The new initiative, #blackprostatecancer Check Challenge, encourages college students to learn about issues surrounding inequities, including what it means to be human in the context of health and healthcare during September's Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. SIU was the first School of Medicine to integrate humanism directly into clinical education.
According to recent studies by Tuskegee University and Cedars Sinai, Black men are now diagnosed with prostate cancer at an alarmingly later stage than white men, and Black men are continuously left out of most cancer clinical studies. “There’s been a stigma surrounding prostate cancer and we need to change that narrative," said Charles D. Neblett, PhD. age 83. "I have challenged my children to speak their truths courageously.”
"The life skills we learn in school prepare us for life, said Neblett's son, Kamero. “My father’s experience at SIU Carbondale taught me the importance of working within educational systems to help prepare students to make lifelong contributions to society.” Many black men today lack adequate health insurance to access the advanced integrated cancer treatment centers of excellence. "The news that my father had prostate cancer devastated me, and I was even more surprised at how difficult it is to navigate quality coverage that isn't equally accessible,” said daughter Kesi Neblett.
According to the American Cancer Society, Stage IV prostate cancer treatment costs $92,344 in the first year.
