Photo: Getty Images North America
Montell Jordan, best known for his 1995 hit “This Is How We Do It,” has revealed that his prostate cancer has returned.
Jordan was first diagnosed with Stage 1 prostate cancer in early 2024 after routine prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening revealed elevated levels. He underwent surgery to remove his prostate and initially recovered well. Just two weeks after the procedure, Jordan performed with Usher at a concert in Anaheim.
During Wednesday's (September 3) episode of the TODAY show, Jordan, 56, revealed that doctors discovered "tiny amounts" of cancer in lymph nodes on his left side and in the prostate bed after nine months of follow-up screenings. Jordan’s diagnosis was upgraded to Stage 2, classified as a more aggressive form of prostate cancer.
“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 said Wednesday. “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.”
Jordan is set to undergo proton radiation therapy five days a week for seven weeks and will take hormone blockers to suppress testosterone, which can fuel the growth of prostate cancer.
“(It’s) a radiated treatment that is specifically focused on that lymph node part of my body,” Jordan said. “It is a seven-and-a-half week interruption of life to make sure that I have a longer life.”
Despite the setback, Jordan said he's optimistic about the future. The singer credited early detection for giving him treatment options and hope.
“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 said. “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.”
Jordan, who is also a pastor, is documenting his journey in an upcoming film titled Sustain, which aims to raise awareness and provide a “template” for others navigating a cancer diagnosis. He’s also partnered with the nonprofit ZERO Prostate Cancer to advocate for regular screenings, especially among Black men, who are 1.7 times more likely to be diagnosed and twice as likely to die from prostate cancer than white men.
Jordan acknowledged the stigma and taboos that keep many men, especially Black men, from speaking openly about prostate cancer or getting screened.
“If you’re talking about prostate cancer that deals with manhood … that is definitely a reason why men don’t talk about it,” he said. “Another reason why I am talking about it (is) because when I got diagnosed, I didn’t have anybody to give me a template of what to expect.”
Jordan is also scheduled to discuss his diagnosis on iHeartRadio’s The Breakfast Club on Thursday (September 4).
“I want to be a part of this solution. Your life is worth more than what a stigma presents or what a taboo presents. I need you guys to get checked,” Jordan said Wednesday.
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