Ask Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings how he’s doing nowadays and he smiles and says, “I’m doing well.”
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Last month, his staff wasn’t so sure.
He stunned them all after his eighth and final “State of the County” address, revealing at a post-speech press gathering that he was “suspending” — actually ending — his run for Florida governor because of a diagnosis of prostate cancer.
“I chose living over campaigning,” he said in an interview last week with the Orlando Sentinel.
Doctors said he was lucky.
The cancer was caught early, detected by a Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test that measures protein produced by the prostate gland, and is treatable.
The mayor, 67, who also has served as sheriff and Orlando police chief, said he has taken the PSA test as recommended at least annually since turning 40 because prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Black men in the United States, according to the .
It is also twice as deadly for Black men as it is for white men.
Studies suggest racial disparities in prostate cancer outcomes are most likely related to inequalities in access to medical care. According to fightcancer.org, evidence suggests Blacks have similar prostate cancer survival rates when treated within an equal-access health care system such as the Veterans Health Administration.
Before his public announcement, Demings and his wife, Val, a former Congresswoman, had told only their three adult sons.
The mayor had also informed his campaign manager.
County Administrator Byron Brooks said his initial reaction to the mayor’s public disclosure was disbelief and awe.
“The mayor delivered a phenomenal State of the County address, composed and professional as always, all the while privately holding this health concern that almost certainly had been weighing on his mind for a week,” he said.
But Brooks said he wasn’t surprised that Demings is willing to use his platform to encourage others to get their own health assessment.
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The mayor reaffirmed that health concerns were his reason for leaving the governor’s race.
“I don’t like what has been going on in Tallahassee within the state of Florida with the divisiveness, the mean-spirited political theater that we see and experience,” he said. “I chose to get into the race to fight back…But staying in that fight, when I could potentially do harm to myself that would be irreparable, wasn’t a good choice.”
Polls had shown an increasing lead for David Jolly, a former congressman who — as Demings was — is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor.
But Demings said he sensed his candidacy was gaining momentum with a new campaign teamwhen he decided he needed to bow out.
“I felt pretty good about where we were,” he said.
Demings said he expects to finish his term as mayor, which ends in December.
He hopes his cancer experience encourages others to get checked out as prostate cancer is treatable and often curable when diagnosed early.
Invited by the pastor at his church to tell his health story, he encouraged men —especially Black men — to get regular check-ups.
“I’ll talk about my journey,’” he said. “I had no symptoms.”
His family had no history of prostate cancer.
His dad, Freddie Lee Demings, died in 2023 at the age of 100. His twin brother, Terry, is cancer free.
Demings was referred by his doctor for additional precautionary testing because his PSA numbers, while still normal, ticked slightly upward.
Elevated results do not automatically mean cancer. An infection and some medications can raise levels.
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But one of those additional tests, a biopsy, detected the cancer.
Demings plans to have cancer surgery later this month.