Honoring His Father and Himself in Supporting Cancer Research
Reverend Darryl K. Lincoln began donating to the V Foundation to honor his father, who beat prostate cancer. The donation became even more personal when he himself was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Rev. Lincoln remembers when legendary basketball coach Jim Valvano climbed the steps onto the stage at the 1993 ESPY Awards show to accept the Arthur Ashe Courage Award while in his own battle with cancer.
“I think as most people who have seen Jim Valvano’s talk prior to him passing away, it’s a very moving talk,” Rev. Lincoln said. “The fact that he had the courage to stand up, and with all the strength that he had, advocate for people donating for cancer research was compelling.
“I had a grandfather who died from throat cancer in 1991. And I’ve had a couple of people in my family who have had cancer. Cancer is something that is obviously a gut punch when you first find out you have it, but it’s fantastic that there are many more options for people today than there were 20 or 30 years ago when Coach Valvano had the idea with ESPN’s help to start the V Foundation.”
Rev. Lincoln, a native of Oneonta, N.Y., has seen first-hand how these options are helping people. Several years ago, his dad, Dr. Eugene Lincoln, was diagnosed with prostate cancer. His treatment involved radioactive seed implantation into the tumor area. As a result of this treatment process developed through cancer research, he became a cancer survivor. He passed away from an unrelated illness in 2019.
As a Black man with a family history of cancer, Rev. Lincoln acknowledged his increased risk for getting prostate cancer. In particular, prostate cancer mortality among Black men is approximately double that of men in most other groups. Knowing these factors, he continued to have his prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level checked during his annual physical examination.
This February, during his annual physical, his PSA measured a 9.08, a significant jump from his normal value of under 4.0. His doctors did follow up tests, and he was diagnosed with prostate cancer on March 25. Further body scans revealed that the cancer was contained to the prostate, a blessing that provided him with more treatment options.
The traditional treatment for prostate cancer is removal of the prostate. But because of his previous medical history of pulmonary embolisms, and being on a blood thinner, surgery was not his best option. In consultation with his urologist and oncologist, he began hormone therapy, followed by radiation. Hormone therapy started in May, followed by radiation in mid-July.
He has a handful of radiation treatments left, then will do post-radiation treatments and continue medications and monitoring his PSA every three to six months for the next four to five years.
Rev. Lincoln has seen the importance of advancements in cancer research in his own cancer journey through the development of new medications. He was given two drugs for his hormone therapy that were relatively new to market. These drugs functioned in a similar way to the previous standard drugs of care but were designed to work quicker to control his testosterone levels.
“Drug research has been very helpful, and I’m sure it has a lot to do with the cancer research that’s being done,” Rev. Lincoln said. “That’s one of the efficacy treatments that helps with the cancer itself.”
Rev. Lincoln began donating to the V Foundation in honor of his father. He chose the V Foundation because of the importance of cancer research he observed in his father’s cancer battle. It became even more personal when he himself was diagnosed with cancer.
He was comforted by the V Foundation’s commitment that 100% of direct donations will go directly toward cancer research. The V Foundation proudly has an endowment that covers all administrative expenses. This pledge assures donors that the V Foundation is the best steward of their dollars.
“I think it’s a place where the money is well spent, and lives are being saved from [cancer],” Rev. Lincoln said. “It’s very easy in that case to donate. I was donating even before I had cancer because I’ve had family members who had it. Cancer is more personal to me now because I have it. Thankfully, I’m able to get the treatment that I need as opposed to having cancer but not having treatment options.
“People are looking for places that they can trust, particularly when they have a dollar to give. When the Lord gives you funds, you want to make sure you’re being a good steward of those funds by giving it to organizations that are accountable for spending it in a way that’s helping people.”
Charitable giving and helping others are deeply instilled values in the Lincoln family. Rev. Lincoln’s parents, Eugene and Luevonue, both former college professors, graciously donated in excess of $200,000 toward college scholarships at their church and they were active volunteers in their community.
For Rev. Lincoln, he’s sure that advancements in cancer research will be part of his legacy. The quote in Jim’s famous ESPYS speech that resonates the most to him can be boiled down to three simple words: Laugh. Think. Cry. To Rev. Lincoln, it’s a call to think of others, reiterating the charitable giving that his parents instilled in him.
“In my mind, that whole sequence is really talking about man’s ability to care about other people,” Rev. Lincoln said. “If you can laugh every day, if you can think about someone other than yourself every day and have your emotions moved to tears every day means that you are not just thinking about yourself; you’re thinking about things that can help other people.”
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