Today is National Cancer Survivors Day, a day intended to honor and celebrate life after cancer.
I have to admit, I wasn’t really feeling it this year.
My heart is heavy. A lot of people I know are feeling it. So much racial tension, and for good reason. There are a lot of issues that need to be addressed where race is concerned in this country — from the justice system to education to health care. Vast inequities exist, whether or not we want to admit them.
I’ve thought about what I can do and how I can raise my voice. I believe I can help best in the arena about which I know the most — cancer advocacy.
The reason I’m feeling so, well, meh, about today’s observance is because not everyone who is diagnosed gets to observe it. Especially if you’re black.
According to a report by the American Cancer Society, black people collectively have the highest death rate and shortest survival rate of any racial/ethnic group in the United States for most cancers.
Black men have the highest cancer incidence rates from among all groups.
While the cancer death rate when combining all sites is virtually the same for blacks and whites, black men are more likely to die of prostate cancer than white man. Black men and women are far more likely to die of stomach cancer than white man and women. Death rates among black people for liver cancer, myeloma and cervical cancer are higher than those for whites.
The reasons for these disparities are complicated. Social determinants of health — where people live, work, learn and play — influence cancer risk. So does access to quality health care, a signature issue for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the organization for which I spend a lot of time advocating on behalf of others.
There are other issues: lack of access to healthy food, lack of transportation, income disparities, lack of leisure time physical activity (i.e., “going to the gym) (Side note: if you have no leisure time because you’re working one, two or even three low-paying jobs to put food on the table and keep a roof over your head, leisure time physical activities is not a possibility). Stress, heart disease, diabetes.
Solving cancer disparities is a complicated issue. There are no easy or simple answers, but ACS CAN has committed to work on solving this issue.
As an ACS CAN volunteer I too am committed to solving this issue. I recognize I have so much more I need to learn and understand, but that’s a work in progress.
This is an issue too important to ignore. We all deserve to see more birthdays, more anniversaries, more National Cancer Survivors Days, more days with family and friends.
Cancer is no respecter of persons, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, color, creed, political party, etc.
All of us deserve to be survivors.
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