Dwight Moore is an avid cyclist who began cycling while in the military. During that time, he participated in his first of many 100+ mile cycling events. Post military, he continued these endurance cycling races, averaging 11,000 miles per year, and consumed a healthy diet consisting of fish, fresh fruits, and vegetables. In 2017, a friend encouraged him to attend a community health fair, where he was surprised to find out his blood pressure was greatly elevated despite his healthy lifestyle. He had no previous history of high blood pressure and at the time, attributed it to stress as he had recently become a fulltime caregiver for his mother. He followed up with his primary care doctor, where he underwent routine PSA screening for prostate cancer and found out his PSA level was elevated. After being referred to and examined by a urologist, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer at the age of 58. Though prostate cancer runs in his family – both his father and older brothers had been diagnosed – Dwight thought his healthy lifestyle would protect him and was surprised by his diagnosis. As his doctor stated, he was doing all of the right things to take care of himself but unfortunately his genetics were against him.

After his diagnosis, Dwight maintained his healthy, active lifestyle, which his doctors believe contributed to the success of his cancer treatment and minimal side effects from his surgery. Dwight also used his experience to help spread knowledge about prostate cancer to his friends, families, and church community. He found that many men, particularly African American men, were not familiar with the disease and many had no idea what PSA was. Learning how greatly the African American community was impacted by prostate cancer and that it is highly treatable when diagnosed early, Dwight worked with the Arkansas Department of Health and the Arkansas Prostate Cancer Foundation to give talks to educate the community, particularly African American men, about screening and the importance of early detection. He found that many shared the common misconception that they wouldn’t be diagnosed with prostate cancer if they exercised and ate a healthy diet.

Through his work with the Arkansas Prostate Cancer Foundation, Dwight was nominated to become a consumer peer reviewer for the Prostate Cancer Research Program (PCRP). Being an African American man who is actively involved in his community, he was able to bring his unique background and personal experience to the peer review panel. Through his involvement with the PCRP, he has been quite impressed with the level of effort and interest among scientist reviewers in learning about prostate cancer from a survivor’s perspective. Dwight continues his efforts to educate his community about the importance of early detection and screening for prostate cancer while maintaining a healthy lifestyle. For men that do end up facing a prostate cancer diagnosis, he hopes the PCRP’s collaboration between scientists and prostate cancer survivors will help to bring better treatment options.