WTKR anchor Kurt Williams spreads cancer awareness as he begins radiation treatment himself

In December, Kurt Williams lay on a doctor’s table at Urology of Virginia, wearing only a black T-shirt and a white drape concealing his lower body.

He was prepped for a biopsy to determine if he had prostate cancer and had brought a colleague with him into the room. News 3 photojournalist Wayne Pellenberg kept a camera pointed at Williams, a veteran Hampton Roads broadcaster and WTKR news anchor, as he underwent a transrectal ultrasound.

“This part is the part we can’t completely numb up for you,” Williams’ doctor, John Liu, said, while inserting a probe into his patient. “Feels like a big fat finger going in there.”

Thousands of viewers later watched as Williams’ usual big broadcaster smile, contorted into a grimace. Sound waves emanating from the probe bounced off Williams back to the ultrasound machine and flashed a picture of his interior onto a display screen.

The footage aired in mid-December during a news segment in which Williams announced he had cancer and wanted to use his platform to talk about the dangers of prostate cancer and the disproportional rate at which it affects Black men.

“For me, going public, I just thought that it would help men,” he said, later, in an interview. “I don’t think we are as good about taking care of our health as women are — and, particularly in that area,” he continued, laughing softly. “We feel so vulnerable, and I thought that it could also be a reality check for men, particularly Black men.”

Williams, who is African American, wants people to know he developed the disease despite preventive care, such as a fruit-and-vegetable-heavy diet without fried foods, and annual exams. Black men have higher prostate cancer incidence and mortality rates than white men. This isn’t the first time Williams has used his work to bring awareness to the deadly disease; he’s been discussing such dangers since the early days of his career.

Williams got his start as a journalist in Atlanta. He graduated from Georgia State University in 1984 with a degree in journalism broadcasting. An internship at an Atlanta NBC affiliate turned into a desk job listening to police scanners and helping news crews navigate the city.

His first job as an on-the-ground reporter took him to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he worked for about two years before getting hired in 1987 to work in Hampton Roads. He was 27 when he started at WTKR/Channel 3, and it was around the same time his dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer. One of his first big projects was researching and reporting the impacts of prostate cancer.

“I started learning like, ‘Oh, man, it really hits African Americans hard.'”

According to the National Cancer Institute, Black men have the highest rate of prostate cancer in the country. They are twice as likely to die from it and, according to a 2021 study, are on average diagnosed at a younger age than white men.

Screening for the disease typically involves measuring the prostate-specific antigen levels in the blood. But exams, though dreaded by some, are vital. Men should start getting tested around 40.

In November, Williams went to his doctor for an annual physical. His PSA levels weren’t unusually elevated but, as is standard, he also had a physical prostate exam.

“Normally it’s a 20- to 30-second procedure,” Williams recalled, “and this one was a little bit longer.”

He looked at the doctor and felt uneasy.

“And, I could tell when I looked at him. He was like ‘Mmm, I felt something that’s not supposed to be there.'”

Based on his family history and ethnicity, his doctor wanted a biopsy. The newsman invited a cameraman, not knowing what the biopsy would find.

“I just figured, this could be a good story,” Williams said.

Speaking to the camera that day in December, Williams and his doctor explained the steps of the biopsy as the appointment progressed. Prostate health should not be a taboo topic, Williams said later.

“So, the camera was in there when that probe — that ultrasound probe — was in my butt,” he said, cracking himself up laughing.

He got the biopsy results a few days later: Four of the 13 tissue samples showed signs of cancer. Two were considered “low-grade”; one was considered intermediate. The doctor called the fourth “high-grade,” Williams said.

According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, the severity of prostate cancer is often measured by the Gleason grading system. Cancerous tissue samples are graded between two and 10. The higher the number the more severe the cancer. Williams’ fourth sample was an eight.

“Because of that eight, they recommended acting now instead of taking a ‘watchful waiting’ approach,” he explained. “They said, we needed to start following a treatment path.”

Meanwhile, he keeps positive and refuses to “freak out over this thing,” he said. He remembers how his father beat cancer and is 92 and still active, in great shape and still driving around town. Williams believes his upbeat attitude has also helped to ease the worries his wife of 30 years, Judi Lassiter-Williams, and their three adult children have had.

Still, Williams has had his moments.The most scared he has been was in the lead-up to a full-body scan in January when PET and CT scans would determine if the cancer had spread. It hadn’t, and over the next few months, Williams cranked out newscasts to raise awareness about prostate cancer.

In one piece, he explained treatment options. He chose conventional radiation therapy, which he started Thursday after his insurance refused to cover proton therapy offered at Hampton University’s Proton Therapy Institute.

In another piece, he included a conversation with his doctor about erectile dysfunction and “penile rehabilitation.”

He discussed his situation with colleagues and prompted his station to take part in a “Prostate Cancer Awareness and Prevention” campaign. In February, News 3 funded a local Super Bowl commercial featuring Williams speaking about the importance of prostate exams.

His work has been reaching people. Prostate cancer survivors frequently reach out to him and he doesn’t attempt to estimate the number of encouraging emails and positive social media responses to his recent broadcasts.

“People stop me now at the gym. In the store, people come up: ‘We’re praying for you.'”

Colin Warren-Hicks, 919-818-8138, colin.warrenhicks@virginiamedia.com