R&B singer Montell Jordan has revealed his prostate cancer has returned, less than a year after declaring he was ‘cancer free.’
Jordan, 56, was first diagnosed in January 2024 and removed his entire prostate gland via a radical prostatectomy surgery later that year.
He announced he had overcome the illness late last year, but on Wednesday appeared on Today to reveal the cancer had been ‘detected’ again – along with his plans to treat it.
‘I always imagined I would be telling my prostate cancer story from the other side of prostate cancer because I had a radical prostatectomy surgery. My prostate was removed. There were clear margins,’ he said on the show.
‘Close to a year post-prostatectomy, I still need to go back and have additional treatments because it’s (been) detected that there is still cancer.’
An examination done nine months after his surgery found ‘tiny amounts’ of cancer in the lymph nodes on the left side of his body and in his prostate bed, the R&B singer told the outlet.
Montell Jordan has revealed his prostate cancer has returned, less than a year after declaring he was ‘cancer free’
‘We thought it was all confined, isolated to the prostate,’ he said. ‘Apparently, that was not the case.’
Now Jordan will be treating his illness next month through proton radiation therapy, which Today writes is a ‘targeted radiation often used to treat prostate cancer’, and hormone blockers.
Jordan will be having the proton radiation therapy done five days a week for seven weeks, and the hormone blockers will prevent the production of testosterone, which has the potential to make cancer grow in certain cases, according to Today.
‘It’s a radiated treatment that is specifically focused on that lymph node part of my body,’ Jordan told the outlet. ‘It is a seven-and-a-half week interruption of life to make sure that I have a longer life.’
And he’s remaining optimistic about his future: ”I’ve already had a fantastic quality of life even following my prostate removal, and so I believe that even after this next treatment that I have to do, it will eradicate the cancer from my body and still have a great quality of life moving forward.’
A routine prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening test done last year was what led to his diagnosis, after the examination detected elevated PSA levels.
The This Is How We Do It singer found the diagnosis ‘alarming’ but was relieved it was found early: ‘Hearing that it was early on, that it was first stage for me … which is treatable, that was probably the saving grace.’
‘I still go numb a little bit,’ he said of the initial diagnosis. ‘I’m the type of person that tries to live a life of moderation in what I eat and what I drink and how I work out. I don’t do alcohol or smoke or any of those things.’
He ultimately underwent the radical prostatectomy surgery, but a biopsy of his prostate upgraded his diagnosis to Stage 2 prostate cancer, which Jordan said was a ‘more aggressive cancer.’
The singer, who is behind hits such as This Is How We Do It, was first diagnosed last year; pictured 2023
He revealed he was cancer-free last year
The surgery was still a triumph, with Jordan even performing on stage with Usher at a concert just two weeks after the procedure.
He’s had regular screenings since then, but his nine-month examination detected the cancer’s return.
The singer also praised his family and ZERO Prostate Cancer, a nonprofit he’s joined forces with to advocate for routine prostate cancer screenings for Black men, who are ’70 percent more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer and twice as likely to die from it,’ according to the ZERO website.
‘I’ve got the toughest wife and kids on the planet — there’s no question,’ Jordan told Today. ‘I’ve got not only my family and my wife and friends, ministry leaders, (but) I’ve got ZERO. I’ve got a bunch of different folks that we’ve come alongside to do something fantastic and … we want to make a difference.’
An examination done nine months after his radical prostatectomy surgery detected the cancer had returned
Jordan said he’s got the ‘toughest wife and kids on the planet’ amid his cancer battle; pictured 2025 with wife Kristin Jordan, whom he has five children with
Jordan will now be sharing his cancer battle in an upcoming documentary, Sustain.
The singer launched an Instagram account for the documentary on Tuesday, writing to new followers: ‘Never thought I would be here.
‘I never knew this day existed prior to my diagnosis in 2024, surgery in November, and realizing something I thought didn’t involve me personally got personal.
‘We can’t wait for y’all to hear and see the story. The documentary is transformative. You’ll see. Until later… God bless anyone navigating cancer and the friends and family on the journey with you.’
