What’s Killing Darcus Howe

I missed this documentary but I'll highlight it anyway.

The True Stories strand, a showcase for the best international and domestic feature documentaries, presents What's Killing Darcus Howe?, which follows an extraordinary six months in the life of the legendary veteran firebrand Darcus Howe as he attempts to raise awareness of a disease which affects one in four black men.

Darcus decides to kick off his grass roots campaign with Mickey, the son of Leo - one of Darcus' friends who recently died of the disease. Can Darcus persuade Mickey to put aside his macho Essex-boy attitudes and take a test that could save his life? Despite being the most common male cancer, many men are reluctant to take prostate cancer seriously; perhaps the embarrassing and dreaded rectal examination is to blame?

Frustrated and angered that so many of his old friends are dying from what he calls 'the silent killer', Darcus is determined to rally against the authorities who he feels are letting black men down by failing to raise awareness. However, what starts as a campaign to put prostate cancer on the map, quickly turns into a bitter and at times explosive racial clash between Darcus and Asian director Krishnendu Majumdar - two very different generations with very different racial politics.

For four decades, Darcus Howe has been one of Britain's most prominent race campaigners dedicatedly fighting the authorities in the name of racial equality and, for him, prostate cancer is part of the bigger battle for racial equality. Krishnendu sees things differently. Meeting black men, he feels that their attitude is part of the problem and becomes determined to convince Darcus that black men need to take more responsibility for their own health.

What’s Killing Darcus Howe
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25 November 2009

The Prostate Cancer Charity comments on ‘What’s Killing Darcus Howe?’

The Prostate Cancer Charity comments on the issues raised in the More 4 documentary, What’s Killing Darcus Howe, which follows the efforts of broadcaster Darcus Howe as he seeks to raise awareness of prostate cancer amongst the African Caribbean community.

John Neate, Chief Executive of The Prostate Cancer Charity, explains: “It is excellent to see that issues surrounding the African Caribbean community and their awareness of prostate cancer have become a topic for debate. This programme is important in helping to shape our understanding and raise awareness of the inequalities surrounding the African Caribbean community and prostate cancer.

“We know that African Caribbean men are three times more likely to develop prostate cancer and that they are diagnosed on average five years younger than white men. This strongly demonstrates the need for continuing work to raise awareness of the higher risk of prostate cancer in black men and is a key area of work for The Prostate Cancer Charity. It is evident that the current situation – in which many African Caribbean men are unaware of their increased risk of developing the disease – cannot continue.

“Our own awareness raising work in the African Caribbean community has shown that prostate cancer remains an unspoken disease – surrounded by myth and taboo with many men embarrassed to discuss it. This is an area of continuing concern for the Charity and we would encourage all men to visit their GP if they are experiencing any possible symptoms of prostate cancer such as problems when urinating.

“At present, very little is known about why awareness levels in the African Caribbean community are so low, when compared with white men. We would like to see further research investigating why these levels are so low to help us understand how we can better meet the needs of those most at risk from the disease,” he added.

The Prostate Cancer Charity comments on ‘What’s Killing Darcus Howe?’