Dwayne Everett was always vigilant about his health—keeping a healthy weight, watching his nutrition, staying active and making sure he went to his annual physicals. So when Dwayne learned in 2016 at age 46 that his PSA — a marker of prostate health — came back high, it was a surprise. Eventually, Dwayne had a biopsy that revealed a stage one prostate cancer.

“Let’s be honest, prostate cancer is something that you think of for older men,” Dwayne said. “And being that I was diagnosed so early at an early age, it was just really a come-to-Jesus moment like, ‘Look, tomorrow’s not promised.’”

In 2017, he decided to have surgery to treat the cancer, and has been cancer-free since. But a key question changed the course of his future: What if his prostate cancer had gone undiagnosed? 

“My doctor said, ‘You’d probably be dead within eight to 12 years,’” Dwayne said. “I was determined to make sure that this doesn’t happen to someone else. So I’m very vocal. I’m on TV probably about every three months.”

For the past five years, Dwayne has been the national spokesperson for early prostate cancer detection for Northwestern Medicine, focusing his message in particular toward African-American men to encourage them to get their PSA checked starting at age 40. 

“One out of seven men will have prostate cancer before they die,” Dwayne said. “But one out of three African-American men will have it. And just like with all cancers, it’s actually manifesting earlier in African-American men. I want to make sure that they don’t have to go through this, or if they do, they know what their options are.”

Combining two passions

Dwayne, who is a pharmaceutical sales rep for Eli Lilly & Company, also is an avid traveler, enjoying international trips with his wife of 24 years, Andrea “Dre” Nichols-Everett, who is the owner of a popular Chicago gym.

He’s also been a longtime volunteer, influenced by his childhood background as a Southern Baptist and a Boy Scout, now working in Chicago with Little Brothers, an organization that pairs volunteers with seniors.

“I think that God or the universe—whatever you want to call it—puts us on Earth to give back and to help each other,” Dwayne said. “I’ve been very blessed professionally and personally, and it just gives me great joy to volunteer and just give back.” 

So when he discovered A Fresh Chapter through Lilly’s partnership with AFC, “that fit right into my wheelhouse.”

The Peru Odyssey in 2019 brought together cancer survivors, thrivers and caregivers to South America for the journey, which combined volunteer work with special experiences, including a visit to the iconic Machu Picchu. Dwayne was able to join through Lilly’s Connecting Hearts Abroad Program, which offers employees a chance to volunteer overseas. 

Peru Odyssey

On that volunteer trip, at a senior center in Lima, Peru, Dwayne was able to carry over his love for working with seniors, helping with things like arts and crafts, parties, mani-pedis and home visits.

“Seniors are so appreciative, and I just feel that connection,” he said. “Just the word, ‘Thank you,’ means so much and it just makes your heart fill with joy.”

The Peru Odyssey offered Dwayne the added benefit of traveling with about 20 fellow survivors and thrivers — many of whom had experienced cancers different from his own.

“Just to see the different levels of cancer that people were dealing with and how they were dealing with it, physically and emotionally, was just mind-boggling to me,” Dwayne said. “It was healing, but also it also gave me great appreciation for my process and just made me more vigilant to what other cancer survivors go through, what they deal with. How it impacts their family, their work life and everything.”

The emotional and psychological impact of a cancer experience is something that people don’t often understand, he said. “Once you have cancer, you always feel like it can come back. It’s like the boogieman, you know? You can have a cramp in your leg and you’re like, “Oh my God, is that cancer?’” Dwayne said. “To be around people who are experiencing that as well has been a great healing place for me as well, too.”

Making a shift

The Peru Odyssey was in November 2019, just months before the world was thrown into the pandemic. For a sales rep who thrives on travel and interpersonal interaction — and for someone who was ready to get back to his active life—it was a difficult setback.

“I’m a very social person. I just needed that outreach,” Dwayne said. He found that outlet with A Fresh Chapter, as the organization switched to a virtual format and programming, allowing alumni to stay connected or reconnect in a new way. 

Dwayne also became active in AFC’s I.D.E.A. (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access) team, contributing on an ongoing basis to AFC’s inclusion and equity initiatives. Dwayne’s personal collaboration with AFC in social justice began after George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis in 2020. 

Additionally, Dwayne has been working on boosting AFC alumni re-engagement, tapping into the strong pipeline of people who have been through one or more AFC programs.

With the pandemic beginning to wane, Dwayne is back to traveling, attending this year’s Kentucky Derby and planning upcoming trips to Ecuador and Columbia. And he’s continuing to spread the word about AFC.

“When people see you in a good place, they ask you, ‘How do you get there?’” Dwayne said. “And I’m definitely telling them, ‘AFC has definitely been a huge part of my healing and my own work, with trying to give back and making sure that I’m whole.’”

 

Nikki Kallio is a freelance writer and two-time cancer survivor. She has worked for newspapers in Wisconsin, Maine and California, and is a graduate of the Goddard College MFA creative writing program. Her essay “Cold Front,” about the anxiety of cancer recovery amid the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, appears in the 2021 anthology “(Her)oics: Women’s Lived Experiences During the Coronavirus Pandemic” from Pact Press. Her collection of short stories, “Finding the Bones,” is forthcoming from Cornerstone Press, 2023.