The Salt and Pepper Gang founder on faith, radiation, and why early detection saved his life
Rico Davis has spent more than 30 years showing up for other people. As the founder of the Salt and Pepper Gang, a nonprofit brotherhood movement built on the ReachOneTeachOne philosophy, he has mentored young men, visited senior citizen homes, helped men dress for success, and spoken at some of the country’s most historic institutions. None of that prepared him for the morning a doctor told him he had prostate cancer.
He sat down with Rolling Out Health IQ to talk about what that moment felt like, how he chose radiation over surgery, and why he now believes the diagnosis was not something that happened to him but something God gave him so he could save other people.
Take us back to the moment you first received your prostate cancer diagnosis. What was going through your mind?
I always kept getting up in the morning using the bathroom two or three times and I just thought that was not normal. I did not drink a lot of water, so for me to be using the bathroom two or three times in the middle of the night, something was wrong. So I went to the doctor and I remember him saying, you have prostate cancer. And I think I am Superman, so I was like, that is impossible. I had not known anyone in my family dealing with it. I work out every day, I do social drinking, I do not smoke. What could be the problem?
At that moment three things went through my mind. First, when am I going to die. Second, how long am I going to live. And then third, I started thinking about everything I have been through and I said, God did not bring me this far for something like this to stop me. I told myself I am going to beat this, and I asked the doctor to tell me what I needed to do. He said I caught it early and had two options: surgery or radiation. I reached out to men who had gone through both, heard their stories, and made my own decision. I chose radiation. Five days a week for three months, I was on that table at seven in the morning.
As someone who has always been the strong one in the room, how did you process being vulnerable about your own health?
I always ask God to use me as an outlet to share my testimony and uplift others. I have no choice. Yes, we as men have our moments where we are so strong for everybody else. But who is strong for me? At that point I have to look up to the man above and pray for strength. I get my joy from seeing that I just uplifted someone else. That is why I am always being blessed, because I am always helping people.
What symptoms did you notice before your diagnosis, and what finally pushed you to get checked?
Just going to the bathroom that often, knowing that I had not drunk a lot of water the night before, became a real question in my mind. I started thinking about it more often and said, I need to get this checked. At first I was telling myself, well, I am getting up in age, maybe my bladder is weak. I was in denial. But I finally decided to just go and get checked. Because as men, we do not like to go to the doctor. We will find every reason not to go.
Black men are statistically at higher risk for prostate cancer yet are often the least likely to get screened. Why do you think that is?
One man told me he does not go to the doctor because he does not like to hear bad news. I said to him, is it bad news that they tell you that you caught it early and there is a good chance we can get rid of it? Or would you rather go when they tell you that you are at stage four and have one month to live? What is really bad news to you? I call the silence around prostate cancer a slow death. If we can get men to go and get checked, we are going to see fewer Black men dying from this disease. We are not like women. Women have monthly checkups. But a man can be hurt and put a bandage over it and say he is fine until the problem becomes irreversible.
How did your diagnosis impact your family, your community work, and the men who look up to you?
God gave me prostate cancer because he needed me to share my testimony. He knew I was not going to be quiet about it. I remember vividly on my third month, my two sons were with me and each one of them had a hand on my shoulder before I rang the bell. I rang it three times. The first ring was for my own sacrifice, getting up at five in the morning every day to be on that table at seven. The second ring was for all my family and friends who prayed for me. The third ring was for all the men who never got a chance to ring that bell. I have always figured out a way to motivate and encourage other men to follow my lead and get checked early.
What did your treatment journey look like and what kept you going through it?
I had cancer. Cancer did not have me. That was my mindset from the beginning. Every day for three months, five days a week, I was on that table at seven in the morning. When I got off that table I would still go out and speak to kids in the community, still go to the gym, lift weights, play basketball. I kept my life like nothing had stopped. After two months my doctor asked me why I kept coming in energized and cracking jokes with the nurses when most radiation patients feel fatigue and exhaustion. I told him I had made a decision that I was going to beat this and that was that. I felt like God gave me this because he knew I was going to share my testimony and help change lives.
You mentioned radiation exposure. How did that experience factor into your understanding of your own body?
I am going to be honest, every time I lay there I did not know how I was supposed to feel. I was advised that most people come off that table feeling fatigued and tired. But with that big machine, I felt like I was being energized. I would leave there and go straight out to speak to kids when I should have been home resting. I would go to the gym and lift weights and play basketball. I was not feeling what other people were supposed to feel, and I just kept moving.
The Salt and Pepper Gang is built on the ReachOneTeachOne philosophy. How are you using your platform to encourage Black men to take their health seriously?
Because of our followers and our reach, a lot of women and men are hearing what we are saying, and younger men are watching us. We go out and give young men ties and belts through our Belt and Tie program and teach them how to dress for success, because image is everything. When we change their mindset we change their image. And now I am using that same platform to talk about prostate cancer, because I did a video that went viral and I have had men I have not spoken to in 15 to 20 years reach out and say, Rico, because of that video I actually went and got checked. Some of them found out they had prostate cancer. Some found out they did not. But both groups said thank you, because without that video they would never have gone. My goal right now is to save one million men’s lives, one man at a time.
What would you say to a Black man right now who is avoiding a prostate cancer screening out of fear or pride?
Stop being selfish. When you are being selfish you are only thinking about yourself. When you have prostate cancer you have to think about your wife, your sister, your mama, your niece, your nephew. Those are the ones who are going to feel the pain when you are gone. Stop thinking about yourself and start thinking about your loved ones. That is when I think men will go and get checked.
What do you want your prostate cancer journey to mean for the next generation of Black men watching you right now?
I want to see a survey come out that says the numbers are astonishing, that we have a very low rate of Black men dying from prostate cancer. And the only reason that is happening is that men are stepping up and getting that part of their life in order. That is my goal. I want to save one million men’s lives, one man at a time.
Rico Davis is the founder of the Salt and Pepper Gang, a nonprofit brotherhood movement dedicated to community empowerment through the ReachOneTeachOne philosophy. Prostate cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death among Black men in America. If you are 40 or older, talk to your doctor about getting screened. To learn more about Rico Davis and the Salt and Pepper Gang visit saltandpeppergang.com.