Celebrity stylist and Real Housewives of Atlanta alum, Dwight Eubanks, has announced that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in January.
The update comes from an exclusive interview with PEOPLE magazine. Eubanks shared with the outlet that his family history of prostate cancer came from his mother’s side therefore the chances of him getting the diagnosis were slim.
“So I’m thinking that I’m good,” he tells PEOPLE. “I was confident that I was Superman. I was cleared. I was going to be okay and I just never thought about it.”
Eubanks, 64, received the news about his diagnosis during his church’s health fair, where he decided to get bloodwork done. The following week, a doctor called him and revealed the diagnosis.
A follow-up prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test in April also provided further confirmation.
“I was shocked. I was angry,” he recalled. “I was just emotionally a wreck.”
“When you hear the word cancer, you freak out. I’m human. Society has told us that cancer was just devastating and, you know, you just have days to live. So of course I freaked out and I think I’m still freaked out.”
Mayo Clinic states prostate cancer as one of the most common types of cancer. It often grows very slowly. If it does not spread to other parts of the body, it may not cause serious problems.
“I just have to laugh instead of crying about this whole journey.”
The stylist, who has been HIV positive since 80s, has had routine checkups with his doctor every six months. After getting diagnosed with prostate cancer, his doctors reviewed past medical records and noticed that in 2022, he had high PSA levels that weren’t brought up.
“I was like, are you kidding me? This was back in 2022 and nobody said anything to me. He just said, ‘You’re undetectable, so you are fine.’ Never said anything about my prostate. I guess they just weren’t looking at that.”
As frustrated as he was about the possibility of getting a diagnosis sooner, Eubanks admits, “I just have to laugh instead of crying about this whole journey.”