DIDI ANEKWE

Didi Anekwe is a proud 20+ year prostate cancer survivor, community advocate, and the founder of Curatio, whose personal battle with cancer ignited a lifelong mission to close the gap in prostate cancer awareness and early detection among men of color.

Born in Africa and shaped by the loss of both his father and uncle to prostate cancer, Didi came to the United States with a heightened sense of urgency about his own health. His proactive approach to monitoring his PSA levels ultimately led to an early diagnosis, where the cancer was detected at the size of a grain of rice. Through brachytherapy, disciplined lifestyle changes, and a commitment to his health, Didi has maintained a PSA level consistently below 1.0 for over 15 years, with his most recent reading in December 2025 coming in at just 0.02.

His survival story is not one he keeps to himself. Driven by the fact that men of color face prostate cancer mortality rates 2.1 times higher than the general population, and that the rate of diagnosis rises from 1 in 8 among the general population to 1 in 6 among non-Caucasian men, Didi founded Curatio with a clear and focused mission. His work targets Columbus communities where health disparities and medical deserts leave far too many men without access to life-saving information and care.

Equally important to Didi is the often-overlooked role of the women surrounding these men. Wives, daughters, and sisters are frequently on the front lines of supporting men through a prostate cancer diagnosis, and Curatio is intentional about bringing awareness and resources to that community as well.

Didi’s message is simple, urgent, and rooted in lived experience:

prostate cancer is not a death sentence. It is a slow-growing cancer, and the earlier it is caught, the better the outcome. That belief is the heartbeat behind everything Curatio does.