41-Year-Old Teacher Noticed a Weak Urine Stream—His Persistence Uncovered Prostate Cancer Doctors Initially Dismissed Because They Assumed He Was ‘Too Young’ For Cancer

Gregory Jacob was just 41 and teaching middle school when he noticed subtle but troubling changes in his bathroom habits. His urine stream had weakened, and something didn’t feel right. Trusting his instincts, he sought medical advice—only to be dismissed.

“I talked to doctors, but they would kind of, you know, brush it off. ‘Well, you’re too young to be dealing with stuff like that.’ And so they never really checked my prostate,” Jacob told WWLT News.

Read More

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Gregory Jacob Jr. (@gregoryjacobjr)

Despite the lack of urgency from his providers, Jacob persisted. He eventually underwent a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test—a blood test that can detect elevated levels of PSA, a possible indicator of prostate cancer, an enlarged prostate, or inflammation. This was followed by a digital rectal exam (DRE), a quick but vital screening tool.

“Quick exam, a little bit uncomfortable, but the information I got from it was lifesaving. Had I waited longer, it could have been too late,” Jacob explained.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Gregory Jacob Jr. (@gregoryjacobjr)

The results confirmed what his body had been trying to tell him: Jacob had prostate cancer. His treatment included a prostatectomy, a surgical procedure to remove the prostate.

While surgery isn’t necessary for all men with prostate cancer—some opt for active surveillance depending on age and risk—Jacob’s case required immediate action.

Through the physical and emotional toll of treatment, Jacob leaned heavily on his faith and the unwavering support of his family. Now 48, he credits his wife for urging him to get checked and stands as a vocal advocate for men’s health.

He encourages others to listen to their bodies, speak up about symptoms, and have the uncomfortable—but potentially life-saving—conversations about family health history.

Jacob shares his journey in his newly published book, “TRIED & APPROVED: FAITH. FIGHT. HEAL.: A Faith-Fueled Transformation Work-Book for Sons, Husbands, Fathers, and the Women who love them.” It’s a reflection on the spiritual and emotional transformation that came with his diagnosis.

“These past six years have been my sixth day: a season of shaping, healing, grinding, grieving, and refining. This book wasn’t born from a single moment. It was forged through divine appointments and deep discomfort. What began as pain became purpose,” Jacob wrote in an Instagram post.

Using Faith as a Tool for Healing

A study published in Cancer highlights the powerful role of faith in the lives of cancer patients, revealing that 69% of those diagnosed with cancer reported praying for their health, compared to 45% of the general U.S. population.

Cancer psychologist Dr. Andrew Kneier helped co-author “Coping with Cancer: Ten Steps toward Emotional Well-Being.” He also co-authored a column published by Stanford Medicine with Rabbi Jeffery M. Silberman, director of spiritual care at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut.

Together, they emphasize the deep emotional and psychological support that faith provides to those battling illness.

According to Kneier and Silberman, spirituality offers a powerful coping mechanism, helping individuals navigate the uncertainty that comes with a cancer diagnosis.

“A person’s faith or spirituality provides a means for coping with illness and reaching a deeper kind of inner healing,” they explain.

Faith helps patients in multiple ways, including:

• Seeking answers to the difficult questions illness presents.
• Finding comfort in the midst of fear and pain.
• Gaining a sense of direction during an overwhelming and uncertain time.

Religious teachings, they argue, can serve as a guidepost, offering strength and resilience when navigating the emotional and physical challenges of cancer.

WATCH: Three-time cancer survivor shares how her faith helped her during cancer.

New York City Presbyterian Pastor Tom Evans tells SurvivorNet about the importance of finding ways to cope with the complex web of feelings you may be experiencing after a challenging health diagnosis, such as cancer.

“It’s important to reach out in a simple prayer to God, even if you’ve never prayed before, you don’t know what to say, a heartfelt plea, ‘God, help me, be with me,’” Pastor Evans told SurvivorNet.

“You can reach out to God, and you can reach out to people, your friends and family, and say, ‘I can’t do this on my own. I need you.’ “It’s in that willingness to be open and to receive that we can find something deeper that we never would’ve encountered without this hardship,” Evans continued.

Treating Prostate Cancer As Cases Gradually Rose In Recent Years

Prostate cancer cases have been on the rise in recent years. The medical journal of the American Cancer Society found that “the prostate cancer incidence rate has risen by 3% per year from 2014 through 2019.”

WATCH: Finding Hope During The Prostate Cancer Journey

Prostate cancer is very treatable when caught early — and thanks to incredible advances in treatment options, even prostate cancer that is caught in advanced stages can often be managed. A long-standing prostate screening tool is the protein-specific antigen (PSA) test. This test screens for prostate cancer by looking for larger amounts of protein-specific antigen in the blood. An elevated PSA test does not always mean prostate cancer, but it could indicate a man’s cancer risk is higher or lower.

“Population-based prostate cancer screening has historically relied on PSA levels, which have led to the diagnosis of many prostate cancers that are not a threat to the patient’s life,” a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine said.

In recent years, other test methods, including prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) scans and MRI imaging, have gained increasing support from cancer experts. PSMA PET-CT scans are a relatively new imaging technique that allows physicians to visualize prostate cancer cell clusters anywhere within the body. PSMA PET-CT is helpful for people with prostate cancer where there’s a high risk of the disease spreading outside the prostate gland or those who have recurrent cancers.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses a magnetic field, radiofrequency pulses, and computer technology to generate highly accurate body images.

What Factors Go Into Treatment Choices?

For many patients, the differences between treatment options — such as surgery, radiation, or hormone therapy — can be subtle. But those nuances matter, especially when side effects impact daily life.

Dr. James Ryan Mark, a urologic oncologist at Fox Chase, urges patients to weigh the benefits and trade-offs of each treatment option carefully.

“In certain cases, the differences in treatment options can be relatively minor,” Dr. Mark explains.

WATCH: Balancing Treatment and Quality of Life: What Men Should Know About Prostate Cancer Care

One common combination for aggressive prostate cancer is radiation therapy paired with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), also called hormone therapy, which suppresses testosterone to slow cancer growth. While this approach can significantly improve recurrence rates and survival, it’s not without cost — especially for older patients.

“Adding those treatments to radiation has a big improvement on the recurrence rate of survival,” Dr. Mark says. “But not all men sustain that big of an improvement, and particularly if you’re older, taking out your testosterone can really affect your muscle strength and vitality.”

For some, preserving strength and energy may outweigh a modest increase in cancer control.

“As patients are getting elderly, to some, that is more important than maybe a 10% [increase] in their case of prostate cancer control,” he adds.

Dr. Mark also cautions against rigid treatment protocols that don’t account for individual needs. He encourages patients to ask their care team questions and explore different types of treatments, specifically inquiring about possible treatment outcomes and the side effects they bring.

“Sometimes, it almost seems dogmatic in the way the treatments are delivered,” he says. “It’s always good to ask what the benefit of each aspect of the treatment is and what can be given in a different way.”

Dr. Vivek Narayan, a medical oncologist at the University of Pennsylvania, is part of a growing movement in oncology that embraces combination therapy as the backbone of metastatic prostate cancer treatment. This approach pairs traditional hormone therapy (also called androgen deprivation therapy or ADT) with FDA-approved oral agents like abiraterone, enzalutamide, apalutamide, and darolutamide — each designed to disrupt the testosterone-driven growth of cancer cells further.

WATCH: A Message Of Hope For Men Fighting Advanced Prostate Cancer

These therapies not only slow disease progression but also offer patients a chance at living longer, fuller lives — even with an advanced diagnosis.

Dr. Narayan highlights the progress in advanced prostate cancer care, noting that the disease is increasingly manageable and patients now have greater potential for improved quality of life. Still, patients must be carefully monitored.

“Even with metastatic prostate cancer, it’s not always the cancer that causes the biggest problems. We’ve got to keep an eye on overall health, because that matters just as much.” Dr. Narayan notes.

This shift in perspective is critical — not just for patients, but for caregivers and clinicians alike. It reframes the diagnosis from a terminal sentence to a chronic condition that can be managed with precision and care.

The outlook for prostate cancer care is promising, driven by breakthroughs in treatment and the rise of personalized medicine. Dr. Narayan’s work at Penn Medicine, among other cancer research centers across the country, continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible, offering patients not just treatment but a renewed sense of continued hope.

Prostate Cancer Screening and Warning Signs

When you do get screened for prostate cancer, your doctor will run a few tests.

One of the tests is the PSA test, a simple blood test that screens for prostate cancer. It looks for more significant amounts of protein-specific antigen (PSA) in the blood. An elevated PSA test does not always mean you have prostate cancer. It could also reflect that your prostate is enlarged, which is common, or it could signal an infection or inflammation.

Your doctor may also conduct a digital rectal exam (DRE) to check your prostate for lumps.

Depending on the results of these tests, imaging scans and a biopsy may be ordered.

WATCH: How Gleason Grade Determines Treatment

Prostate cancer does not always behave the same in every man it impacts. The cancer can be considered “low-risk” and can be slow-growing, and treatment might not be necessary. In other men, the cancer may grow faster or more aggressively, requiring more immediate treatment. Because of this, there is some debate about screening.

The United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends that men at average risk between the ages of 55 and 69 years talk with their doctor about the pros and cons of prostate cancer screening.

The American Cancer Society recommends that men at age 50 who are at average risk should begin screening. Men who are at high risk of prostate cancer should begin screening at age 40. Men with a close relative diagnosed with prostate cancer should consider annual screenings in their 30s.

SurvivorNet experts suggested that men consider factors like their family history, genes, and age when deciding whether and when to screen.

Symptoms of prostate cancer may include:

• Urinating more often
• Waking up in the middle of the night to pee
• Blood in your urine
• Trouble getting an erection
• Pain or burning when you urinate
• Pain in your back, hips, thighs, or other bones
• Unexplained weight loss
• Fatigue

Prostate Health Among Black Men

The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) has cancer screening guidelines with Black men in mind.

Since Black men tend to be diagnosed with prostate cancer at younger ages compared to other racial groups, the new guidelines state Black men should consider screening at 40 years old since this demographic group is regarded as a “high-risk population.”

WATCH: How to Address Racial Disparities in Cancer Care

“Few guidelines have outlined specific recommendations for prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based prostate cancer screening among Black men,” researchers for PCF said in its report published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

“Discussions with health care providers about baseline PSA testing should begin by the time Black men are in their early 40s, and modeling data suggest prostate cancer develops 3-9 years earlier in Black men compared to their peers. Lowering the age for baseline PSA testing from 50-55 years to 40-45, followed by regular screening intervals until the age of 70, would reduce prostate cancer mortality in Black men,” the PCF said in its report.

RELATED: Black Men May Be More Susceptible To Advanced Cancer Due to Biomarkers in the DNA, Study Says

SurvivorNet holds an annual Close the Gap conference to educate, spread awareness, and ultimately work to eliminate racial disparities in cancer care. Our efforts aim to ensure everyone has access to education about cancer, screening recommendations, treatment options, clinical trials, and more.

Questions for Your Doctor

If you have experienced symptoms associated with prostate cancer or have a screening coming up, here are some questions you may ask your doctor:

• If I had elevated PSA levels, what could be causing that besides cancer?
• How long will it take to learn if my PSA levels warrant further testing?
• What are the treatment options that are best suited for me based on my risk level?
• What financial resources exist to help me with the costs associated with treatment?
• How long will my potential treatment prevent me from working or continuing normal activities?

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

---