Detroit doctor’s research on prostate cancer saves lives

DETROIT – At age 80, Dr. Issac Powell should enjoy retirement; instead, he continues to work every day and perform surgery.

Powell, a urological oncology doctor 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, meaning there is racial disparity in prostate cancer when it comes to screening, prognosis, and mortality. Powell said it also makes cancer more aggressive in black men.

Local 4 profiles Dr. Powell for Black History Month as a creator 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, which he has faced for most of his life.

MONTH: Stories of the month of black history

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 during his high school years left him unprepared.

“When I got to Michigan, I realized I wasn’t as prepared as my classmates for my training and in high school, I went to a newly integrated school and they weren’t interested in teaching black kids . I was never allowed college preparatory class. My chemistry teacher, even though I had the highest score on my national chemistry exams, even suggested that I get a job at the steel factory, because I didn’t think I would succeed in college. So it was a devastating blow and this was my first real case, my first case of exposure to racism, ”said Powell.

Despite this overt racism and explicit bias, he persevered. Since fair housing laws had not yet been created, it was a challenge to even find a place to live during his years in Ann Arbor.

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“In those days they could discriminate on the basis of race and, therefore, they would tell you frankly that we do not rent to black people. They didn’t use that kind of words, they used other words at the time. So it was worrisome. Also, there were teachers who, in fact, one told me that I could never get a grade higher than the C in their class. And the type of exams were written exams, so it was subjectively graded, so I could be sure it wouldn’t exceed C depending on how the exams are graded. So those two experiences at the University of Michigan that worried me a lot, Powell said.

Powell went on to medical school and became a successful surgeon and 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 obtain the funding he needs to advance his research.

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

“Whether or not you get funding depends on who reviews your grant. And most of the big grants, you know who is reviewing and there was never any African American scientist, African American scientists reviewing my grants, except on one occasion and that’s because I insisted that if I applied for this grant, I should be African American reviewers, ”Powell said.

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

“I hate to leave. I hate leaving my patients, because I know they will be in situations, ”said Powell. “It’s important that African Americans be treated by someone they think they are. They are more likely to trust someone who looks like them. Unfortunately, we are not good enough to look like our patients, so this is another difficult problem to solve. “

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“I’m 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 that’s going to be attractive for someone else to come and do what I’m doing,” Powell said.

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

“It simply came to our notice then. He has been looking for additional doctors to continue the investigation to continue the work of all the efforts he has made, all the documentation and all the history he has, ”Hines said.

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

“It simply came to our notice then. I hope. I hope to save lives. That’s the most important thing I’ve ever wanted to do in medicine to save lives, “said Powell. “I’m a decision maker when it comes to prostate cancer and racial disparity, so in that sense, I think I’m changing the notion or ideas of the majority white health system, specifically urology, when it comes to breast cancer. ‘African Americans. “

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

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Al Roker also obtained the profile of Dr. Powell on NBC’s “Today” program for Black History Month. Kimberly Gill and Roker recently talked about the gear maker. You can watch the conversation in the video below.