Dr. Charles R. Rogers

It feels like yesterday that I received the 2013 Outstanding Graduate Student of the Year Award from Texas A&M University.

Since then, I've learned that life is short. God's way of reminding us to focus on what truly matters.

Many people want freedom from pain, but healing requires something deeper. It requires looking inward, facing hard truths, extending grace, and allowing God to heal places we've learned to hide.

Titles fade.
Awards collect dust.
Achievements come and go.

A healed heart, a clear purpose, a strong family, and a life aligned with God's calling will always matter more.

Life is short.

Choose healing.
Choose growth.
Choose purpose.
Choose God.
🙏🏾

Colore**al cancer (CRC) has become a growing concern in Black communities. Black Americans continue to be disproportionately affected by CRC, as they are 20 percent more likely to get the disease, and about 40 percent more likely to die from it than most groups. These disparities stem from a combination of systemic inequities, barriers to care, and social determinants of health.

Additionally, there has been a significant rise in early-onset CRC among younger adults, with young onset now accounting for about 10 percent of new CRC diagnoses, underscoring the need for earlier detection and intervention.

For clinicians, improving adherence among Black patients must go beyond simply telling them to get colore**al cancer screening. It’s critical to understand how culture can influence their interactions within the healthcare system and to find new ways to reach them.

I had the opportunity to dive deeper into this conversation with Dr. Charles R. Rogers for a recent article for BlackDoctor. Read more here: https://blackdoctor.pro/cultural-awareness-colore**al-cancer-screening/

My father died when I was 4.5 years old.

My son is 3.5 years old.

Every year that passes makes me think about that reality a little differently.

A few weeks ago, someone told me:

"You seem to get younger every year."

Honestly, I've been trying to age differently.

Not because I'm afraid of getting older.

I'm afraid of missing the moments that matter most.

As a men's health researcher, I spend a lot of time studying why men, particularly Black men, continue to die too young.

The statistics are heartbreaking.

The lived reality is even harder.

Many men were taught to push through pain.

To carry stress silently.

To provide for everyone else while neglecting themselves.

The cost of that mindset is showing up in our communities every day.

Children growing up without fathers.

Families losing brothers, sons, husbands, and mentors far too soon.

My son doesn't need me to be successful.

He needs me to be present.

Presence at his graduation.

Presence at his wedding.

Presence for the moments that don't make social media but matter the most.

Men's Health Month isn't about men.

It's about the people who love them.

It's about the people who still need them.

Take care of yourself.

Someone's future memories depend on it.

If this message resonates with you, share it. Someone may need to hear it today.

My heart is heavy today.

This weekend, the colore**al cancer community lost a giant.

Nearly a decade ago, social media introduced me to Phuong Ly Gallagher. Long before we met, I admired her commitment to helping others. As President of The Colon Club, she made sure young adults facing colore**al cancer never felt alone.

At just 29 years old, Phuong was told she was "too young" for colore**al cancer.

She wasn't.

She was diagnosed with stage III re**al cancer and would go on to endure four metastatic recurrences over the next 18 years.

Many people would have focused only on surviving.

Phuong focused on helping others survive too.

She mentored patients.
She supported families.
She participated in clinical trials.
She advanced research.
She advocated for awareness.
She fought for a cure.

When we finally met, we became collaborators, colleagues, and friends.

One thing I loved about Phuong was that she would never let me pay her directly for her work on research projects. Instead, she would ask me to donate those funds to The Colon Club so more patients and families could be supported.

That tells you everything you need to know about who she was.

Yet what I will remember most isn't the research, the publications, or the awards.

It's that she always asked about my family.

She reminded me that our greatest impact comes from how we treat people.

I am heartbroken that she is gone.

I am grateful that she is no longer suffering.

I am grateful for every conversation, every text message, every lesson, and every opportunity to tell her how much she meant to so many of us.

Phuong's purpose did not end this weekend.

It lives on through every life she touched and every person who continues this fight.

Until colore**al cancer is no longer stealing mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, friends, and advocates, we will keep showing up.

We will keep fighting.

We will keep honoring your legacy.

Rest well and in power, Phuong. 💙

**alCancer

Every week, another family learns the words:
“Stage 4.”

Then comes the sentence no family should have to hear:
“We wish we had caught it sooner.”

Colore**al cancer is rising among younger adults, yet too many people are still being told:
“You’re too young.”
“It’s probably stress.”
“It’s hemorrhoids.”

Months pass.
Sometimes years.

By the time answers finally come, families are left grieving people who should still be here.

At the Colore**al Cancer Equity Foundation, this is why we continue showing up in communities with education, trusted conversations, and screening resources that help people take action before it is too late.

This work is not about awareness alone.

It is about giving more people the chance to survive.
More families the chance to keep their loved ones.
More dinner tables without empty chairs.

Every conversation matters.
Every screening matters.
Every life matters. 💙

**alCancer