Corey Lewis was talking to the co-founder of his health-focused nonprofit, when he learned that Black men die of prostate cancer at twice the rate of white men.
His colleague shared that, in fact, one of his other friends had just received a diagnosis. “Man, we’ve got to save the homies,” Lewis’ friend said.
From there, a new initiative was born.
Save The Homies, soon to be a nonprofit, aims to get at least 1,000 Black male Iowans signed up for a simple blood test this year to determine if they have prostate cancer. Lewis and his co-founder Larry Twitty, pictured below (l to r), aim through Save the Homies to get Black men to check for prostate cancer earlier, and more often.
“We want to support as many Black men as possible,” said Lewis, who runs the nonprofit MyCityMyHealth and is a health coach and longtime podcaster in the Des Moines area.
“We are currently in the process of developing a full documentary talking about the myths, (and) breaking the stigma by telling the stories of other black men who had prostate cancer, or whose dad died from prostate cancer because they were afraid to go to the doctor.”
Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer for all men. But Black men are almost 70% more likely than white men to develop prostate cancer in their lifetime and twice as likely to die from the disease, says the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. The reasons why vary, from dietary choices, to a reluctance to visit doctors.
In fact, getting men to feel more comfortable going to the doctor is actually one of the key goals of Save The Homies. Lewis said he’s heard from so many men who assume that getting screened for prostate cancer is a big deal, when it’s actually just a blood test. Many Black men and women also distrust the health care system because of experiences when they’ve felt discounted or disrespected, writes Pew Center Research.
“At the end of the day, all we want men to do is go to their provider and take that first step to get the test,” Lewis said. “It is so preventable that we should not be dying at the rates they are now.”
Black men are encouraged to get tested as early as 40, but definitely by 50. If caught early, prostate cancer is highly survivable.
Lewis aims for his documentary to eventually air on streaming services like Hulu and Netflix, in addition to YouTube. “They will see something really well-written and created. It is dope, it is our culture, they will watch it, and they will learn something. That’s the goal.”
Lewis also plans to involve spouses in his interview. “We tend to listen to Black women.” Civil rights attorney Ben Crump heard of the effort, too, and shared it with his network.
“Early screening saves lives—let’s normalize the checkup,” Crump wrote on X.
Eventually, Lewis aims to expand Save The Homies to other states, too. “It is wherever God wants to take us.”
To learn more, reach Lewis at corey@mycity.health.
This article originally appeared in About OUR Health & Wellness, a special edition of Urban Experience Magazine in Des Moines. See an e-edition of that print magazine here.
