Prostate cancer is extremely curable if caught early. However, men of color—especially African American men—are disproportionately diagnosed at advanced stages, facing significantly worse outcomes.
Health inequities, systemic barriers, and stigma around discussing men’s health continue to delay critical testing and diagnosis, deeply impacting families and communities.
In this episode of TheOncoPT Podcast, Dr. Edward Wright opens up about his personal journey with prostate cancer and the mission behind the We Can Win Foundation.
In this episode, you’ll dive into the pressing need for open conversations about men’s health, including the psychological and sexual health challenges that often go unspoken.
You’ll also explore how community support and education can empower men to seek early detection and break the silence surrounding this disease. Through the We Can Win Foundation, Dr. Wright is working to create a safe space for men to share their experiences, access resources, and take charge of their health.
This episode is a powerful reminder of why OncoPTs must address these issues head-on and how you play a role in closing the gap in prostate cancer awareness and treatment.
Listen for more information on prostate cancer & men’s health
Listen to these past episodes of TheOncoPT Podcast on prostate cancer and men’s health:
- The Hidden Skills You Need to Implement in Prostate Cancer Rehab – Dr. Matthew Johnston, PT
- Why It Doesn’t Get Better with Time for Prostate Cancer Survivors – Dr. Matthew Johnston, PT
- How Prostate Cancer Actually Affects Your Patients
How to Connect Your Patients with the Together We Can Win Foundation
For more information about The We Can Win Foundation, Inc., please visit
http://www.wecanwinpc.org, email wcwfoundation@wecanwinpc.org, or call 972-816-9588.
Virtual Prostate Cancer Support Group launches Thursday, April 10, 2025
The We Can Win Foundation is launching their brand new virtual prostate cancer support group on Thursday, April 10, 2025 for prostate cancer patients, survivors and their families.
The meeting will start at 8:00 pm on Thursday, April 10th and run every month on the 2nd Thursday of every month, using the same link.
Your patients can register in advance for this meeting at https://zoom.us/meeting/register/RZOCY652QMKpzZwgGt4h3Q.
After registering, they will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Together We Win Symposium – May 3, 2025
On May 3, 2025 from 10am-4pm, the We Can Win Foundation will host its 5th annual in-person Together We Win Symposium in DeSoto, Texas.
For more information and to register for the event, visit https://www.wecanwinpc.org/events.
Want to watch the episode instead?
Watch this week’s episode of TheOncoPT Podcast on our YouTube channel!
About the We Can Win Foundation
The We Can Win Foundation, Inc. is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Dallas County. As we enter our fifth year of service, we continue to make a significant impact through symposiums, resource availability, education, and referrals to hospitals and medical facilities specializing in prostate and breast cancer. To date, we have reached over 500 African American men and women in our area, emphasizing the importance of early detection and screening. Our efforts have been met with positive feedback, and many individuals have shared stories of successful outcomes.
We recognize the urgent need to combat prostate cancer in men of color, who face alarmingly high rates of advanced-stage diagnoses and mortality despite the disease being 99% curable if caught early. Similarly, breast cancer rates among women of color have increased by approximately 44% in the past two years, highlighting the necessity of providing a safe space for these communities to discuss their challenges. Health inequities continue to hinder timely testing and diagnosis, significantly impacting African American families and communities.
The mortality rate for Black women diagnosed with breast cancer surpassed that of Caucasian women in 2023, according to the American Cancer Society. We remain committed to addressing these disparities and creating an environment where individuals can access quality healthcare. While we recognize that we cannot win this fight alone, we firmly believe that, “Together We Can Win.”
About Dr. Edward Wright, BS, DDiv
Bishop Dr. Edward W. Wright Sr., BS, DDiv., is a proud native of New Orleans, Louisiana. He began his distinguished service to his country by joining the U.S. Navy in 1972, where he was stationed in San Francisco, California. After his military service, Dr. Wright chose to settle in Oakland, California, before relocating to Dallas, Texas, in 2015.
In 2004, Dr. Wright graduated from the Oakland School of Urban Missions in California, earning a Certificate in Biblical and Theological Studies with a focus on Urban Evangelism and Pastoral Counseling. He went on to obtain a Doctor of Divinity in Christian Theology from Sacramento Theological Seminary and Bible College in 2007 and, in 2022, earned a Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity from Colorado State University–Global Campus.
Dr. Wright’s life took a profound turn in 2012 when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer at the age of 57. This life-changing experience ignited a passion for educating communities on the importance of early screening and detection. In response, he launched “Real Talk About Prostate Cancer,” which in 2024 was rebranded as The We Can Win Foundation, Inc. This 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is dedicated to promoting early detection and screening for prostate cancer, particularly among African American and Hispanic communities.
Over the years, the foundation has expanded its mission to encompass total men’s health, breast cancer awareness, and plans to address additional health disparities. Based in Dallas, the organization has also extended its reach to the Fort Worth/Tarrant County area. The foundation hosts an annual symposium that brings together people of color, healthcare providers, cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers to discuss early detection, treatment options, and vital resources.
Dr. Wright has collaborated with prominent organizations such as Zero Prostate Cancer, Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, The American Cancer Society, UT Southwestern Radiation Oncology, Parkland Hospital, Methodist Hospital, Moncrief Cancer Center, Boston Scientific, and Carter Blood Care. He has also advocated on Capitol Hill, championing legislation to eliminate the cost barriers for early cancer detection, screening, and education.
Statistics from the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network underscore the urgency of his mission: Black men in the U.S. face the highest documented rates of prostate cancer globally and are over twice as likely to die from the disease compared to non-Hispanic White men. Similarly, the breast cancer mortality rate for Black women in the U.S. is 40% higher than for non-Hispanic White women.
Dr. Wright’s leadership extends to his partnership with Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. – Gulf Coast Region, where he supports their men’s health initiative, leveraging the fraternity’s global network to amplify The We Can Win Foundation’s mission. As Dr. Wright explains, “Our motto, ‘Culture for Service and Service for Humanity,’ allows us to break racial barriers and ensure communities receive the information they need.”
In 2023, Dr. Wright’s unwavering commitment to public service was recognized with the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for Volunteerism, presented by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
Dr. Wright is married to his wife, Shajuana, and together they have five children, including three biological and two bonus children. His personal motto, “A cure is within reaching distance, and Together We Win,” encapsulates his life’s work and vision for a healthier future.
For more information about The We Can Win Foundation, Inc., please visit http://www.wecanwinpc.org, email wcwfoundation@wecanwinpc.org, or call 972-816-9588.
Transcript
Elise Cantu (00:19)
Hey, Onco PT and welcome back to this episode of TheOncoPT podcast. Now you’ve heard me talk about on the podcast a couple of episodes ago, I went to this year’s Cowtown Oncology Nursing Symposium, like I try to do every year. And every year they have amazing guests and I’m very privileged today that I have one of the speakers from the Cowtown Oncology Nursing Symposium joining me today.
to talk about a very special foundation that has been around for a few years and has some really, really big moves coming. And we’re here to talk all about it and how we can get your patients connected with this amazing foundation. So I’m so excited to welcome Dr. Edward Wright to the podcast of the We Can Win Foundation. Dr. Wright, welcome to TheOncoPT podcast.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (01:04)
Well, thank you, Elise. I’m so excited to be here. This is really fun. Just in the pre-interview, I’m excited about what you’re doing and what the Cowtown nurses are doing, the oncology nurses are doing. And just for the opportunity to be here, I’m excited about just being here with you.
Elise Cantu (01:21)
Mm-hmm.
So for those who may not be aware of or familiar with the We Can Win Foundation and the work that you’re doing, would you mind introducing yourself to my audience before we dive into some of the exciting stuff that y’all are doing?
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (01:39)
So I’m Dr. Edward Wright. I’m the CEO, executive director, and founder of what was formerly called Real Talk About Prostate Cancer. In 2024, we rebranded so that we can include total men’s health as well as breast care. So we started the foundation, my wife and I, on a whim just before COVID, two years before COVID. And…
we started putting all the little small pieces together. How are we gonna do this? Will it work? Who’s gonna do what? And then in 2020, we released our very first, we did our very first symposium. So the We Can Win Foundation, after being rebranded, it came about because I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2012 while living in California. And…
I got a call from my doctor and he said to me, look, I need you to come back into my office. I remind you, I just seen this guy like two weeks prior. I didn’t really like seeing him that often.
He called me, says, look, doc, we need you to come back in, talk about some stuff. So I went in and when I walked through the door, we sat down and we started talking about this thing called prostate cancer. And I was like, prostate cancer? Yeah, what is that? Right. I’m 58 years old, pretty well educated, but not in that space. And so then he started talking about PSA and the prostate. And so then, you know, things are going on in my head now. Like, okay, first of all,
slow down. First tell me what is the prostate? Tell me where the prostate is located. Tell me what its functions are. And lastly, tell me what this prostate cancer thing you’re talking about. Because once he said cancer, all I heard was yada yada yada yada yada. Right? And so we discussed it and he told me about it. What it all entailed and what it could be like.
And so he says, look, I want you to go and have a biopsy because your PSA went from 2.5 to 5.5 in a little under 12 months. He said to me, that’s frightening. And again, I don’t know what PSA is and what it does. Nobody’s ever told me about this before. I didn’t know that he was testing for PSA every time I went for my
Elise Cantu (03:59)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (04:14)
annual physical. He never told me, but he was such a concerned doctor that he ran every possible test. So I went for a biopsy with a radiologist at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation over in Palo Alto, California. that was an experience I don’t think no man should ever have, but it just so happened that I had to have it.
Elise Cantu (04:16)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (04:39)
So I was getting ready for vacation. I was in Mobile, Alabama, waiting for a flight to Miami to go to Old Trader Joe’s, Jamaica for vacation. Four o’clock on this Friday evening, I get a phone call, four or five o’clock, get a phone call from the radiologist. He says to me, Mr. we found a small trace of prostate cancer about the size of the tip of an ink pen, but don’t worry about it.
Whoa, did you just tell me I had cancer and don’t worry about it in the same breath? So is this how you deliver news like this to your patients? Like, OK, fine. No worries. He says, go on your vacation. When you come back, we’ll meet with the panel of doctors and we’ll start discussing what we’re going to do about this thing.
Elise Cantu (05:20)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (05:36)
Well, you know, but now I don’t want to go on vacation. I just heard I got cancer. But I some great people around me and talked me through it. And we actually went and had a good vacation and came back. Met with a round table of urologists, radiologists, oncologists, dieticians, PCPs. mean, every medical professional I could ever think about was at this table. And we started to discuss options.
Elise Cantu (05:39)
Yeah. Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (06:04)
The first
thing a urologist said to me was, well, I think we should remove your prostate. And so I’m looking at this guy right here, 58 years old, pretty much healthy, right? And I said to him,
Surgery is not an option. So let’s take that off the table right now. We don’t even have to discuss that any further. So we took that off the table, discussed other options, and I decided to do active surveillance, or most commonly known as watching and waiting. So, you know, we just, every three months I went in for a PSA exam, and then five years in, 2017, I was here in California.
Elise Cantu (06:21)
Tim.
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (06:48)
I’m sorry, had moved to Texas in 2015, started going into the VA hospitals. And the radiologist that I was seeing told me, said, look, I’m not comfortable with the way your prostate is feeling. Now, mind you, I had six biopsies from biopsy one through 2017. Six. No man should have that many biopsies, right?
And then of course the digital rectal exams, know, man, it’ll make you challenge your own sexuality, right? There’s so many of them, right? And so he said, I just don’t like the way it’s feeling. So I’m gonna send you to UT Southwestern Radiation Oncology. Best thing that could ever happen to me in my life, in my prostate cancer journey. So I go over there, I meet with Dr. Hanan.
Elise Cantu (07:21)
Mmmh, ha ha!
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (07:41)
in a nurse practitioner, Tamara Dickerson, and they pulled up a seat and got right in front of me, eye to eye, and says, look, we’ve looked at your chart. I’m going to just tell you this, this thing is not going to kill you. I’m like, OK, that’s great news. But how do you know it’s not going to kill me? She says, well, it’s not advanced enough. And there’s therapies out there that you will be a good candidate for. And.
Elise Cantu (08:00)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (08:10)
was now called the market therapy or the seed therapy. It just come out of clinical trial. I wasn’t a part of the clinical trial, but it just come out of clinical trial, 99 % success rate. So I said, okay, look, you’re the doctor. If you think this is gonna work, let’s go for it. If you think I need to seek a second opinion, he says, I think it should be okay. And I’m like, okay, so we decided to go with it. So we did this stuff, this routine stuff, we went for about six months.
Elise Cantu (08:17)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (08:39)
December 2018, had to, well, just before that, they did what’s called a fusion biopsy. So I take the biopsies and MRI, the overlap the two to see exactly where the damaged area is in the prostate. So they’ll know where to direct the radiation. And so I went in and,
I got ready for the treatment. So let me just say this. Here’s how I operate. I believe that everything is meant to happen in your life. I’m 70 years old today. Never thought I’d be having a conversation at 70 with all the crazy stuff I’ve done in my life. But I go into this room with these medical professionals. There’s like nine of them in the room.
Elise Cantu (09:07)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (09:25)
And I’m making all of these jokes and got folks laughing. And the doctor says to me, Mr. Wright, if we had more people coming to this room with a positive attitude like yours, it’ll make our job a whole lot easier. I said, Dr. Le, one or two things are going to happen. I’m either going to come out here and be good, or I’m not going to come out here. There’s somebody that’s going be playing in the funeral. Either way, I’m good with it, right?
Elise Cantu (09:34)
you
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (09:50)
And so we went through the procedure. And then when they started planting the seeds, it was extremely painful. So I ended up getting three shots. Every time they implanted a seed, I had to get a shot. Fentanyl, 25 milligrams of fentanyl, which get the life out of me, But 75 milligrams throughout the procedure. Had the procedure, went home, started recovery.
Elise Cantu (10:03)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (10:17)
And that was December of 2018. And here it is, March 2025. And I’m good. My PSA is undetectable now. It was at 10.0 when I had the procedure done. And I tell people all the time, they ask me this, well, how do you feel about having prostate cancer? I I don’t feel anything. I don’t have what you might want to call a feeling.
Elise Cantu (10:28)
Hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (10:46)
What I do say to them is that…
It was God ordained that I got that contracted prostate cancer and they assume the va assumed that it was due to Agent orange during my time in vietnam. I was on the aircraft carrier So the aircraft was bringing it back after flying through agent orange and bringing particles back to the ship so 5500 men on that ship and I wish I could just reach out and try to get a number of how many other men on this ship was diagnosed with prostate cancer
Elise Cantu (11:03)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (11:19)
Right, so, you 2018 Got married shortly after that 2019 April and My wife has walked with me they want because prostate cancer is called a silent killer for a reason Men especially black men. They don’t have that conversation in their homes me I called everybody I knew
Elise Cantu (11:19)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Right.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (11:48)
called friends, relatives, frenemies, total enemies. I called everybody I knew. I tried to call the TV station, but they wouldn’t take my call, But I called everybody I knew because I knew that in order for me to make it through this thing, I was going to have to have a village of people. I have kids, I three kids, grown kids, have grandkids. I didn’t want them to have to suffer through this thing not knowing what I was dealing with.
Elise Cantu (11:54)
Hahaha!
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (12:18)
So I had a sit down and I talked with my family, my siblings, my children, and I explained to them what was going on. And so I had to ask my wife the hard question. I said, look, so I have dysprosy cancer, so are you sure that you want to marry me? Even though you might think that I’m a millionaire, I’m really not. So you might want to think twice.
Elise Cantu (12:18)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (12:46)
So we had that sit-down discussion, and she made the choice to marry me. And she’s worked with me hand in hand from day one. And the reason why I say that is because it is important that men dealing with prostate cancer, I don’t care if you’re black, white, green, or blue, if you’re dealing with prostate cancer, you have to talk to somebody. It takes a village to get you through this thing, right?
Elise Cantu (12:49)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (13:12)
And I’ve lost several friends. One of my very best friends died at 63 years old because he didn’t go to the doctor. I mean, me and this guy were like brothers. We lived in California together. We went to beauty college together. We worked in salons. We traveled during platform shows together. And he died at 63 years old, prostate cancer. It makes sense.
Elise Cantu (13:21)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (13:38)
So what we do here at the foundation is we try to bring relevant information into the underserved communities about the real deal when it comes down to prostate cancer. And with me, I try to keep it real. I don’t try to speak above anybody’s level. People need to understand what we’re saying. They need to have a total understanding of what we’re saying about prostate cancer and the importance of early detection and screening.
Elise Cantu (13:49)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (14:06)
talk to men all across the country on a daily basis. They call me after they’ve been diagnosed with prostate cancer because somebody told them about us. I get on the phone, I spend hours on the phone sometimes with these guys listening to their stories. And here’s what I get all the time. Man, I wish I have went to the doctor and got checked earlier. So if you could have, should have, would have, we’ll put you in the casket, right?
Elise Cantu (14:16)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (14:34)
So this is the kind of hard conversation I have with these guys. And then you deal with, some guys deal with depression. I went through a slight stage of depression myself, but I had a conversation. I don’t know if I mentioned this at the end, supposedly, but I had a conversation with God one day, because I was a little bit, I’m a little bit upset. I’m trying to figure out, what’s going on? Why do I have prostate cancer? Nobody else in my family had it that we know of, right?
Elise Cantu (15:00)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (15:02)
And I asked him the question, so why me? Which is actually the title of my book that I’m writing called Why Me? And we have to be careful when we get into a spiritual side of things and begin that question guy because we are gonna get an answer that we may not like. And so what he said to me was, well,
If I had not afflicted you with prostate cancer, I would not have been able to heal you. And you would not have been able to bring this message to men across the globe. And after I had that conversation, I was good. I’ve been good ever since. I’ve been good ever since. Because it gives me the opportunity now to help some other man to live. This is a real world, this prostate cancer world. It’s a real world that we live in.
Elise Cantu (15:39)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (15:54)
And it’s medical professionals like yourself, these oncology nurses that see these cases every day trying to figure out, so what do I say to this guy to make him feel a little bit better? There’s all kinds of resources that are available. Well, how many people in, let’s say, Texas or even throughout your network know about the We Can Win Foundation?
Elise Cantu (16:05)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (16:21)
We’re seven years in and we’re still trying to get the word out. So it’s going to take these types of interviews with organizations like yours to help us to get this information out so that we not only can support what you do, but then you can also support what we do. We’re a 501c3 nonprofit organization.
Elise Cantu (16:25)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (16:44)
100 % of proceeds go right back into the foundation. The Lord has really blessed me. I’m good when it comes down to money. I I need a little bit more, but I’m OK. But we don’t take any of the proceeds from donations or contributions or our sponsorships. All that money goes back into the foundation to help us to build. So, you know.
Elise Cantu (16:53)
Hehehehehe
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (17:08)
That’s who we are. That’s what the foundation does. And I told you earlier, I could talk about this for 20 years, but I’m a little old man. But yeah, I love what I do. And this is the best thing that ever happened to me. I’ve been in ministry almost 30, a little over 30 years. So this is a ministry for me. And I tell you, I love it.
Elise Cantu (17:10)
Yeah. Yeah.
I think you really hit the nail on the head. And that was one of the things that I really appreciated from hearing you speak both at the Cowtown and also hearing more of your story again today is how much of this, is such a gap currently in when a person is diagnosed with prostate cancer and with cancer in general, but we’re talking about prostate cancer today. There’s this
I’m sure this, wish I would have blah, blah, blah, insert any number of things. And now it’s a, well, now what? Now what that I have this diagnosis, you know, and I feel like prostate cancer for the individuals that I’ve worked with previously who were diagnosed with prostate cancer, a lot of them, you know, maybe their family knew that they were diagnosed, but it wasn’t a topic of conversation. Like it wasn’t something that they talked about.
you know, with their spouses or even with their children or their other support networks, it was kind of something that they held close to their chest. And I think that does a real disservice to that person who is dealing with prostate cancer. so through the We Can Win Foundation, you’re starting to have these conversations and having these conversations with lots of people who need this information, who need these kinds of conversations to happen.
So what kind of, I know you said you spend a lot of time on the phone with people who have prostate cancer. What are some of the other services that the We Can Win Foundation provides to the community?
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (19:08)
Okay, so we provide resources, educational material that we get from some of our sponsors. And we also have the ability to send these, if we can’t offer what they need.
Elise Cantu (19:18)
Yeah.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (19:25)
there’s resources that we can connect them to. For instance, zero prostate cancer has a million resources on their website. And so we can send them over to that website, American Cancer Society has several different resources that we can use to refer these people to. Also, you know, we talked earlier, we’re excited that we’re going to be launching our
Elise Cantu (19:28)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (19:54)
support group coming up here April 10th. And I was really excited about starting the We Can Win Foundation. But I am, man, I am way more excited about starting this support group. It’s called Together We Win. Because in this space, no one can do this alone, right? But Together We Can Win.
Elise Cantu (20:03)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (20:18)
We can talk about this. We can have these hard discussions. know, man, I’m having issues in the bedroom. My bedroom manner has changed since I had prostate surgery. I don’t know how to explain this to my wife. My wife is looking at me side-eye like, what’s the problem? You don’t want to be bothered with me. But it’s not that. It’s that men don’t want to have that conversation. That’s why prostate cancer is called the silent killer.
Elise Cantu (20:32)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (20:46)
because men don’t want to talk about it. So we encourage them. It’s important to talk about this thing, right? So we find resources. We find support groups in your area. We provide you, we’ll mail you out literature. We have our annual symposium every year. So there’s a lot of stuff that we can offer, but the person has got to be willing to make the first call.
Now, let me just say this about first call. We will normally not make the first call. And there’s a reason for that. The reason why we don’t make the first call is because we don’t want to infringe on somebody’s privacy. Right? So we ask that they call us first. And once they call us, now we got the ball rolling. I have literally sat on the phone two hours.
Elise Cantu (21:15)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
course.
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (21:45)
talking to men. 80 year old guy in Arkansas just had his prostate removed. I think that was insane. It was unethical. That doctor should not have removed that 80 year old man’s prostate. There were other options. This man now is so depressed. This was a
Elise Cantu (22:02)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (22:09)
relatively healthy 80 year old. I mean, he has a ranch. He drove around his ranch on the little vehicle and rounded up his cattle and, you know, had a good relationship with his family. Now the guy is in such deep depression. He said to me, man, I just want to die now. Like, well, you don’t want to die. You don’t want to die. Let’s get you through this thing. Right. He says, understand. But every time I stand up, I’m wet on myself.
Elise Cantu (22:13)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (22:39)
So can you imagine how that feels for a man? So it’s stories like this. A 58-year-old guy out of Detroit, Michigan removed his prostate. His bedroom manner changed. He didn’t know how he’s playing it to his wife. It caused a problem. So prostate cancer causes other issues outside of the medical side of it. It’s the psychological side of it. And we also have to deal with it.
Elise Cantu (22:54)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (23:06)
And I’m sure in your space, you guys not only deal with the medical side of cancers, the psychological part of it. Is this thing going to kill me? Am I going to live my life every day thinking that I’m going to die? No. We don’t allow you to think like that in my space. You have to have a positive outlook on your life. And in order to do that, you have to have the conversation.
Elise Cantu (23:20)
Mm-hmm.
Right, right. It really does start with that conversation. Otherwise, you know, and I’m sure you encounter this, as you’ve mentioned a few stories already, how I had a patient that I saw this morning, different diagnosis, but still very much, you know, we were talking about, it’s always now in the back of this person’s mind of when is the cancer going to come back and how do I live my life with that information? And, you know, that’s something that that person is thinking about all the time.
Maybe not always top of mind, but that is a thought that is always somewhere lurking inside of their brain. And unless this person, you know, unless a person with cancer or who has had cancer is talking about this, it kind of stays lurking in the back of their mind. And that’s no place, that’s no place to be. That’s no way to live, especially, you know, by yourself in that capacity. So I really admire that the We Can Win Foundation is having these conversations.
to bring some of these hard and maybe uncomfortable conversations to light. We’ve talked a bit about the sexual dysfunction that individuals can face after prostate cancer. That’s something that a lot of people don’t wanna talk about right off the bat, or maybe don’t feel comfortable or feel that this is the right space to have that conversation, maybe with XYZ medical provider, but with a group of people who have been there, who have walked the walk, such as yourself.
they can really start to make those connections and maybe open up and have those conversations, both with you, but also with their own family like you’ve talked about.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (25:11)
Yeah, yeah. Look, so I had a guy came over my house yesterday to take a look at the shutters outside of my house because we had some wind damage, right? I’ve had several conversations with this guy because he’s come to do other work on the front part of the house. Somehow the conversations swung around the prostate cancer.
Elise Cantu (25:22)
Yeah, we sure did.
Okay.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (25:40)
So now I’m about to hear another story. So this gentleman begins to talk about it. He says, yeah, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer too. I’m 64 years old. He said, I to my urologist and I told him I was having some issues, some bedroom issues. And he told me, oh, that’s OK. There’s more to life than sex.
Elise Cantu (25:44)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (26:07)
He said yeah, that’s what he told me he said look This guy almost had me in tears. He says I lost my girlfriend. I haven’t had sexual functions in years and Now I just I just live my life alone And I’m like look Let me give you some stuff So started talking. I showed him a book that a friend of mine wrote. We started talking about
Elise Cantu (26:21)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (26:36)
different treatment options for erectile dysfunction and stuff like that. And so when I started telling him about the things that are available, outside of the pill, a lot of people don’t want to take the pill because of the side effects, but penile implants, pumps, injections, and stuff like that. I got to talk to him about this, and this guy was like, I ain’t never heard of this before. Why didn’t this urologist have that conversation with him?
Elise Cantu (26:40)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (27:06)
You see what saying? These guys get paid a lot of money. And they work for us. We’re the customer. They work for us. But here’s a guy that told this patient there’s other things outside of sex. Well, yeah, maybe it might work for you. But here’s a guy that’s in his early 60s. And so after the conversation, you can almost see.
Elise Cantu (27:09)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (27:32)
the joy on his face that he had that conversation and just found out he says so so so when is your event so i got to telling him he says do i have to buy a ticket i said no when you when you get there just look for me you know
Telling you my special guests and I’m in touch with some people that’s gonna help you I guarantee you if this guy shows up at least he is going to be he’s gonna leave that symposium with a whole new outlook on It’s crazy it’s a crazy space it’s a crazy space
Elise Cantu (27:51)
You
Mm-hmm.
Absolutely. Absolutely.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (28:13)
Again, it’s going to take medical professionals like your organizations, people that are related to your organizations, foundations like mine that don’t mind addressing the real truth. Because once we start making this about money, then we lose the full effect on what we do. I told my board, I told my wife, I don’t ever want this foundation to be about money.
Elise Cantu (28:26)
Mm-hmm.
Mm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (28:40)
Now, absolutely, it takes money to run an organization like this. And it takes quite a bit of money to run an organization like this. But I don’t ever want this organization to be about money. I want this organization to be about helping people, men, women, children coming up need to understand that they may fall victim to one of these diseases. I have a niece just celebrated 13 years as a breast cancer survivor.
Elise Cantu (28:43)
Right.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (29:06)
Woke up one Monday morning, she felt a lump in her breast. It was hurting, so they rushed it to the doctor. She had breast cancer so aggressive that while she was on the way, the doctor said, while she was on the way to the doctor, it had already started spreading across her chest to the other breast.
Elise Cantu (29:23)
Mm,
yeah.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (29:25)
So they
did some type of aggressive surgery that Friday, and here she is. Just celebrated 13 years as a survivor. So we can make it through this thing. We have to have people like yourself, your organizations, our foundations, to speak to these people and let them know that you can have a good quality of life, right? As long as you don’t give up. As long as you don’t give up.
Elise Cantu (29:36)
Mm-hmm.
For the physical therapist
who’s listening to our conversation today, where can they find more information about the We Can Win Foundation? How can they get their own patients connected with the foundation?
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (30:08)
Great question. So there’s several ways to reach out to us. Our website is our main focus of communication and that’s at http://www.wecanwinpc.org.
There’s a great deal of resources and information. You’ll see interviews that I’ve done. You’ll see television interviews, magazine interviews on that website. Also, you can send us an email to wcwfoundation at wecanwinpc.org and we normally will get back to new email requests in about 48 hours. And then…
If you want to just talk, you can reach out by phone 972-816-9588. We’re not going to get real personal with you. Just first name maybe, but unless you want to share other information. But that’s a good way to get in touch with us if you want to talk.
Elise Cantu (31:20)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (31:20)
No,
I stopped taking calls past 10 o’clock. I had to. Because it was getting to be a little bit too emotional. When you take these calls at 10, 11 o’clock at night, and then you have to go to bed with that on your mind. The brain doesn’t have time to process that stuff. So the website, the email.
Elise Cantu (31:33)
Yeah.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (31:40)
You can subscribe to our newsletter on our website. We’re in a transition to move the website over to another platform that is fully functional. You can find on our events page. I’m not sure if our graphic artist has put the flyer up on our events page yet, but she’s in the process of doing that.
Elise Cantu (31:46)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (32:01)
So that’ll be there. If you want to find out more about the event and you can’t find information, can just send me an email. I’ll shoot you the flyer. There’s a registration link. There’s a donation link on one flyer. There’s a registration link on the other flyer through QR codes.
because the event is free, but everybody has to register. We’re going to serve a continental breakfast and lunch, right? That event is going to be powerful. my God. I get excited just thinking about it. But that will be another great way to connect with us. The Together We Win Symposium 2025 is going to be on May 3rd from 10 to 4. And we’re extremely proud that we just forced
Elise Cantu (32:22)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (32:49)
deal with the city of DeSoto. So they are now our partners for the next three years and will provide us with the venue for the event. So this year is going to be at the DeSoto Senior Center, which is at, I think it’s 204, 204 Lion Street.
Elise Cantu (32:55)
Nice.
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (33:09)
at DeSoto
and the next year is going to be at the DeSoto Civic Center. So we’re excited about that. Proud partners are going to be there. And we have an award ceremony that we do. We do two CEO awards. We do two, what we call the Pink Diamond Award that’s given to breast cancer survivors. And then we do a survivor caregiver award that goes to a prostate cancer survivor.
Elise Cantu (33:16)
Nice.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (33:39)
caregiver. So it’s gonna be an exciting time. The mayor’s gonna be there, the city manager’s gonna be there, we’re gonna have a great big fifth anniversary cake. So we’re doing it up big time. You ought to come, you ought to come. your colleagues to come on down and let’s get together fellowship.
Elise Cantu (33:46)
Yeah.
Nice.
You know, and before
we hit record, you talked about how you it’s go big or go home. And I feel like this is the perfect like bow on top of that. was looking at the flyer earlier and it’s, it is going to be really, really cool. So this is the in-person event that Together We Can Win symposium happening here in DeSoto, Texas, Saturday, May 3rd, 2025 from 10 AM to 4 PM. And I will link to that in the show notes as well.
Especially for those of us who have patients local or nearby, that would be a great resource. And then can we talk a little bit more about the support group that is launching next month and how listeners can get their patients connected with that support group that is launching too.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (34:47)
Listen, this is the most exciting thing I think I’ve ever done in my life. I’ve had the opportunity to travel all over the world and meet a lot of interesting people, but this is the most exciting thing I think I’ve ever done. We’re going to launch the Together We Win support group for men and families, not just for men, but for men and their families who are dealing with prostate cancer, caregivers, prostate cancer survivors, prostate cancer patients out in treatment right now.
Elise Cantu (35:08)
Mm-hmm. Very cool.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (35:17)
and also their families. This is gonna launch on April 10th at eight o’clock p.m. Central Standard Time. It seems to be late for us here in Texas, but know, the East Coast, we had to give them some time because they’re on a different time zone than Colorado, places like that. So we’re gonna talk about…
In the introductory meeting, the first meeting, we’re going to talk about who we are, everybody’s going to have a chance to introduce themselves, tell us a little bit about what their journey is, where they are on their journey, and then we’re going to get into some stories. We won’t have any medical professionals on the first call because we want these guys, we want to get them into a space where they’re going to be comfortable.
Elise Cantu (36:10)
Totally.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (36:10)
They’ll
be able to talk about their journey, what they’re feeling, what got them to where they are today. Where were they when they first got diagnosed? What stage or was it early stage? Did early detection play a part in them being diagnosed with prostate cancer?
So it’s an exciting time for us. And as I said to you earlier, people look at me and say, man, you must be out of your mind doing some of the stuff that you do. I am. I really am out of my mind. But I don’t believe in doing things small. I believe in doing it on a big scale. Go big or go home. So we want to have at least 100 people. The call will accommodate 250 people.
Elise Cantu (36:29)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (36:55)
But we want to have at least 100 people on that call. Again, the first call on April 10th will be for survivors, patients, and their families, caregivers.
And then calls after that, want to be able to bring in medical professionals, people like yourself, psychiatrists or psychologists that can deal with the mind side of this thing to help answer some of those questions that I don’t know how to answer, right? Not being a doctor, so.
Elise Cantu (37:24)
Right.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (37:29)
This Together We Win thing took about six months to put into play. ZERO is backing us 100%. Blue-ray Diagnostics out of Massachusetts. It’s to be one of the sponsors for the support group. So we’re excited about it. We’re excited about it. Again, I mean, it takes.
takes money to make these things happen. So even on our website, there’s a tab on our website called Give a Gift. listeners can go to that tab and click on that tab and make a donation. Once the site has been moved, they’ll be able to go on and make monthly contributions.
Elise Cantu (38:01)
Mm-hmm.
Very cool.
That is so exciting. And would you mind sharing the website name one more time so people can go and find that after they’re done listening to this episode?
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (38:34)
Yeah, we can win PC.org. We can win PC.org. If you type in we can win, it should pop up in the top 10 Google searches. Yeah, we finally made it to the top 10, right? But look, let me say this in all seriousness. Being an African-American man in a space like this was challenging.
Elise Cantu (38:53)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (39:02)
lot of people said to me, man, don’t do that. Don’t get in that space. You’re not going to work. It’s not going to work. know, people not going to listen to you. And I’m like, OK, they’re not going to listen to me? OK, that’s good. I don’t want them to listen to me. I want them to hear me. I don’t have to listen. I just want them to hear me. And seven years later, here we are.
Right? We’re fully branded, as you can see. We’re fully branded. We have merch that is going to be going up in our store pretty soon. I don’t know. I don’t know where this thing is going to go, at least. Wherever it goes, I’m excited about it. But Together We Win support group. That’s going to be the big baby. And then in June, I think, I think June is the timeline, we’re going to launch the breast cancer support group.
Elise Cantu (39:45)
Mm-hmm.
Very cool. Very cool.
Go big or go home, right?
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (40:01)
You can go home. That’s right.
Elise Cantu (40:07)
my gosh. Well, Dr. Edward Wright, thank you so much for coming on the podcast today to talk about this. We will be linking of course, the We Can Win Foundation website, but also the support group. Again, that is launching this April 10th, which is really exciting. We will link to that information and we will also link to the in-person event, the We Can Win Foundation Symposium that’s happening here locally in DeSoto, Texas on May, what was that?
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (40:36)
Maker.
Elise Cantu (40:36)
May 3rd? May 3rd, perfect. So I’ll make sure
to link to that so you can find that information. And especially the support group, it’s going to be so big and I’m really, really excited because again, like for a lot of us who might be, you you might be practicing on your own as a physical therapist like myself, or maybe you don’t have a really well-established support group in your area, this is a great connecting piece for so many individuals who are dealing with prostate cancer and the aftermath.
of prostate cancer. So I really, really appreciate your time today. Is there anything else you’d like to leave my audience with before we sign off on today?
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (41:14)
Hey look, I appreciate you having me on here, man. I’m starting to feel like I’m a star now, you know. I always tell my mom that my name will one day be up in lights and look at me, you know. But I will send you the link for the support group so that you can link that to your network as well. And just, you know, just thank you.
Elise Cantu (41:26)
Here it is.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (41:37)
Appreciate you for having me here, being able to share this space with you. And I look forward to connecting. If you can, I know you have a busy schedule, if you can come on out to the event, all you have to is just, you have the flyer, just click on the registration link and come sit at my table with me so you can make me look important.
Thank you so much. I appreciate you. really do. I appreciate what you do. And if the We Can Win Foundation can be of any help at any level, feel free to reach out to me and we’ll make it happen. My assistant is actually located in California. So anything that comes to me, I’ll send to her. And then she makes a determination about whether or not I can make it happen. But she’s been with me for a long time.
She knows how I operate. But you have been amazing with this interview. I appreciate you. And again, anything we can do to help the oncology nurses, please reach out. We’re more than willing to help.
Elise Cantu (42:45)
Fantastic. Well, thank you so much again, Dr. Edward Wright. I really appreciate your time. One more time, the We Can Win Foundation is launching their prostate cancer support group coming up very shortly, April 10th. We want to get as many patients connected with this amazing resource as possible and all the information will be linked in the show notes as well. So make sure to share that with your own networks, dear listener. And until next time, this is Elise with TheOncoPT. And remember, you
Dr. Edward W. Wright, Sr. (43:09)
He’s good.
Elise Cantu (43:15)
are exactly the physical therapist that your patients with cancer need. So let’s get to work.