Detroit doctor’s research on prostate cancer saves lives

DETROIT – At 80, Dr. Issac Powell should be enjoying retirement, instead he continues to work every day and undergo surgery.

Powell, a doctor in urological oncology at the Karmanos Cancer Institute, specializes in prostate cancer. He and his team believe they have discovered a set of cancer genes that are expressed differently in black men, which means racial disparity in prostate cancer when it comes to screening, prognosis and mortality. Powell said it also makes cancer more aggressive in black men.

Site 4 is profiling Dr. Powell for Black History Month as an agent of change in our community. He shared with us his successes in his field and the challenges he faced in becoming a doctor, including systemic racism, something he faced for most of his life.

MORE: Black History Month Stories

Powell grew up in Gary, Indiana, and always knew he wanted to study medicine.

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When he started at the University of Michigan in 1958, he realized that the racism he experienced in his high school years left him unprepared.

“When I arrived in Michigan, I realized that I was not as well prepared as my classmates because of my background and, in high school, I went to a school that was just integrated, and they were not interested in teaching black children. I was never allowed to attend college prep. My chemistry professor, although I had the highest score on national chemistry exams, even suggested that I get a job at the steelworks, because he thought I wouldn’t be successful in college. So this was a devastating blow and this was my first real case, my first case of exposure to racism, ”said Powell.

Despite this open racism and explicit prejudice, he persevered. Since fair housing laws have not yet been enacted, it was a challenge to even find a place to live during her years in Ann Arbor.

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“At that time, they could discriminate on the basis of race, so they said quite frankly that we don’t rent to blacks. They didn’t use that kind of word, they used other words at that time. So that was worrying. In addition, there were teachers who, incidentally, one of them told me that I would never get a grade above C in his class. And the type of exams were written exams, so they were assessed subjectively so that he could be sure that I would not pass C based on how exams are assessed. These are two experiences at the University of Michigan that have worried me a lot, said Powell.

Powell went to medical school and became a successful surgeon and a thought leader in prostate cancer research. In particular, how it affects black men compared to other ethnic groups. He has published more than 100 articles on the subject and studied for decades, but is unable to get the funding he needs to continue his research.

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He believes that one of the reasons is the unconscious prejudice of the people chosen to review and approve funds.

“Whether you receive funding or not depends on who analyzes your donation. And most major scholarships, you know who’s reviewing and there’s never been an African American scientist, African American scientists reviewing my scholarships, except on one occasion and that’s because I insisted that if I was going to apply for that scholarship, I had to an African-American reviewer, ”said Powell.

Powell would like to retire soon and spend more time with his family, especially his grandchildren, but he is concerned that there is no one to continue his work.

“I hate to leave. I hate to leave my patients because I know they are going to be in a difficult situation, ”said Powell. “It is important for African Americans to be treated by someone who looks like them. They are more likely to trust someone who looks like them more. Unfortunately, they are not enough of us who look like our patients and this is another problem that is difficult to solve ”.

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“I am desperately trying to get someone to replace me. That’s one of the reasons I’m trying to get a gifted chair, because at least it will be attractive for someone else to come and do what I’m doing, ”said Powell.

Ken Hines has been a patient and friend of Powell’s for more than five decades. Powell treated prostate cancer.

“It has been unforgiving. He is looking for additional doctors to continue the research to carry it out in terms of all the efforts he put into it, all the documentation and all the history he has, ”said Hines.

Local 4 asked Dr. Powell if he seemed to be a change maker:

“Well, I think so. I believe so. I hope to be saving lives. This is the most important thing I ever wanted to do in medicine: saving lives,” said Powell. “I am a decision maker when it comes to cancer. prostate cancer and racial disparity, so in that respect, I think I’m changing the notion or ideas of the white majority health care system, specifically urology, with regard to African American cancers. ”

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Powell has just received a presidential mention from the American Urological Association, which is a great honor in his field.

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Dr. Powell was also described by Al Roker on NBC’s “Today” program for Black History Month. Kimberly Gill and Roker recently spoke about the change agent. You can watch the conversation in the video below.