A 33-year-old Louisiana musician went to the doctor to prove he was healthy. A routine blood test revealed a life-threatening cancer diagnosis.
Man Went to the Doctor to Prove He Was Healthy—Then Received a Shocking Diagnosis
When Joseph Wayne Singleton walked into his doctor’s office at age 33, he was convinced the visit would be nothing more than a quick formality. The Opelousas, Louisiana musician felt in peak physical shape, carried no visible symptoms, and only agreed to a full physical to appease his wife.
However, a single off-script blood test revealed a startling reality: Singleton was living with an aggressive case of prostate cancer.
Now 45, the frontman of The Urban Kreyol Band is opening up about how an unexpected medical call saved his life and why he is advocating for broader conversations around early health screenings.
“To Make My Wife Happy”
As a working musician who also held a commercial driver’s license, Singleton was used to basic annual checkups. However, his wife, Ashley, insisted he schedule a far more comprehensive physical.
“My mentality was, ‘OK, to make my wife happy, I’m going to do this and prove to her that I’m in perfect shape,'” Singleton recalled.
During the visit, his physician made a spontaneous decision to add a Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test to his lab work. The test measures the level of PSA—a protein produced by both cancerous and noncancerous tissue in the prostate—in the blood.
“He couldn’t explain what made him do that, but he did,” Singleton said.
When the results returned, Singleton’s PSA levels were “through the roof”. A subsequent biopsy confirmed prostate cancer, surprising even his medical team at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, who rarely see the disease in men so young.
Treatment, Recovery, and the Screening Debate
Because the disease was caught early, Singleton underwent a successful prostatectomy. Thanks to his overall physical fitness, his post-surgery recovery moved remarkably fast. Within weeks of the procedure, he was back on airplanes performing live shows across the country.
Singleton’s story highlights a growing debate within the medical community regarding when men should begin prostate cancer screenings:
| Medical Entity / Factor | Standard Screening Guidance | High-Risk Guidance |
| American Cancer Society | Informed decision-making starting at ages 45 to 50 | Early screening recommended starting at ages 40 to 45 |
| High-Risk Categories | N/A | Men with a family history of cancer or Black men |
| Under Age 40 | Generally not recommended due to low statistical incidence | Evaluated on an individual basis by a physician |
According to Dr. Robert Smith, senior vice president of cancer screening at the American Cancer Society, routine screening under age 40 is extremely rare because prostate cancer is uncommon in younger demographics. Current guidelines focus heavily on shared decision-making between patients and doctors to weigh the benefits of early detection against risks like overdiagnosis or unnecessary treatment side effects .
A Platform for Advocacy
For Singleton, surviving a rare diagnosis at a young age gave his music platform a new sense of purpose. He now uses his tour stops and public appearances to encourage men to pay closer attention to their health and not shy away from comprehensive blood work.
“This could have turned out so much worse had I not gotten tested early,” Singleton reflected “If I could help prevent somebody else from going through what I went through, that’s the main goal.”
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