‘90s R&B star’s prostate cancer returns despite having organ removed
Montell Jordan is opening up about his latest health struggles.
The 56-year-old singer, who rose to fame with his 1995 hit song, "This Is How We Do It," revealed exclusively on the 3rd Hour of TODAY that his prostate cancer has come back.
"I always imagined I would be telling my prostate cancer story from the other side of prostate cancer because I had a radical prostatectomy surgery. My prostate was removed. There were clear margins," Jordan told TODAY.com .
"Close to a year post-prostatectomy, I still need to go back and have additional treatments because it's (been) detected that there is still cancer," the singer said.
Jordan, who has continued to record music and perform over the past 30 years, was diagnosed with Stage 1 prostate cancer in 2024, according to TODAY.com.
After routine prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening, it was revealed that his levels were elevated and Jordan subsequently underwent a prostatectomy, or complete removal of the prostate.
"Hearing that it was early on, that it was first stage for me … which is treatable, that was probably the saving grace," Jordan said, adding that he believed the procedure would give him the best chance of recovery at his age.
Though the first five days of recovery were difficult, Jordan bounced back quickly. He even performed with Usher at a concert in Anaheim just two weeks after his surgery.
However, at his nine-month follow-up examination this summer, doctors discovered cancer had spread to lymph nodes on his left side and to the prostate bed where the organ once was. Jordan then underwent seven weeks of proton radiation therapy five days a week, along with hormone blockers to inhibit testosterone production.
"It is a seven-and-a-half week interruption of life to make sure that I have a longer life," Jordan explained to TODAY.
However, the musician is thankful for his early diagnosis that resulted from consistent screening since his early 40s.
"Because I was going and had a history of what my blood levels were like, that's how they were able to detect it," he told TODAY. "Early detection is the thing that allows me to have a choice to treat (my cancer) and live and to continue giving myself the best quality of life possible."
He continued, "I've already had a fantastic quality of life even following my prostate removal, and so I believe that even after this next treatment that I have to do, it will eradicate the cancer from my body and still have a great quality of life moving forward."
Jordan is documenting his cancer journey in a forthcoming documentary called "Sustain" that is premiering next year.
He has also partnered with the nonprofit ZERO Prostate Cancer to raise awareness about the importance of regular screening, especially for Black men, who face a 1.7 times higher risk of developing prostate cancer and more than double the mortality rate compared to men of other backgrounds, according to TODAY.
The American Cancer Society recommends African American men and those with a family history of prostate cancer begin screening between ages 40 and 45.
Jordan hopes sharing his experience will help break the stigma surrounding prostate cancer and encourage more men to get checked.
"When I got diagnosed, I didn't have anybody to give me a template of what to expect," he said. "If you're talking about prostate cancer that deals with manhood... that is definitely a reason why men don't talk about it."
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Read the original article on MassLive .
