Latest American Cancer Society study places emphasis on cancer disparities among Black women
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — According to the American Cancer Society, research shows black women have the highest death rate compared to other races or ethnic groups in the U.S. when it comes to most cancers.
This leads to one simple question: Why are Black women dying disproportionally?
It’s a question Dr. Lauren McCullough with the American Cancer Society hopes to answer in the organization’s latest cancer study, titled ‘VOICES of Black Women.’
“We know that black women experience cancer at disproportionate rates,” Dr. McCullough said. “They’re more likely to have aggressive diseases, more likely to be diagnosed at late stages.”
According to a statement released by the American Cancer Society, the VOICES of Black Women study will partner with communities of Black women and cross-disciplinary experts in Black women’s health to “listen and better understand the unique, diverse lived experiences that may affect the risk of developing or dying from cancer. “
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Dr. McCullough told WREG that upon diagnosis, black women have the poorest survival rate of any other racial or ethnic group.
“For example, for breast cancer, black women are twice as likely to have triple-negative breast cancer which is the most aggressive type than white or any other race or ethnic group,” Dr. McCullough said.
Dr. McCullough says she believes that for too long black women have not been adequately included in medical research which means they may have not equitably benefited from some of the medical findings.
“One of the other data points that I think is really interesting is that even among black women who live in neighborhoods where they have access and black women who have insurance, they’re still having poorer outcomes than their white counterparts,” Dr. McCullough said.
To help combat this, the American Cancer Society aims to enroll more than 100,000 black women in their studies. That includes women from 20 states, including Tennessee.
Eligible participants must identify as Black, be assigned female at birth or self-identify as women, not have a history of cancer (except basal or squamous skin cancer), and be between the ages of 25 and 55.
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Enrolled participants will provide informed consent and, over the span of 30 years, answer behavioral, environmental, and lived experience questions through periodic short surveys delivered via a secure online portal. No medication, clinical testing, treatment, or lifestyle changes are part of the study.
“This is not a trial. This is not an intervention,” Dr. McCullough said. “We’re not giving drugs, but what we’re trying to understand is what is it about the day-to-day experience of being a black woman that impacts health.”
If you’d like to participate in the study, you can find that information on the ‘VOICES of Black Women’ website.
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