Minority Cancer Awareness Week advocates for prevention in high risk communities

CANCER is a disease that affects people of all ages, genders, and ethnic and racial backgrounds.  In the United States, it is estimated that nearly ½ of all men and 1/3rd of all women will battle cancer at some point in their lives.  Minorities and economically disadvantaged people are more likely to develop and die from cancer. 

Each year, during the third week of April, National Minority Cancer Awareness Week is held to promote improved awareness about the prevention and treatment of cancer in minority communities. During the Awareness Week, doctors, researchers, and social workers make an extra effort to give minority communities information about the importance of cancer screenings and maintaining healthy lifestyles.  On April 8, 1987, legislation establishing the awareness week was signed into law when the U.S. House of Representatives Joint Resolution 119 was passed. 

Often times, minorities might not go to see a doctor until they are extremely sick.  This results in a later stage cancer diagnosis, which causes lower rates of survival.  A lack of education, poverty, unemployment, and difficulty understanding English are all factors that might also cause higher cancer rates for minority communities. 
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can help all people reduce their risk of developing cancer.  Research indicates that people can also reduce their risk of developing cancer by: exercising, having regular cancer screenings, limiting alcohol intake, limiting exposure to UV radiation, maintaining a healthy weight, and not using tobacco products. 
 
Cancer statistics among different minority communities:
*African Americans have the highest death rate and shortest survival following the diagnosis of any racial and ethnic group in the U.S. for most cancers.
*Cancer is the leading cause of death for Asian American women.
*Hispanics have a higher rate of cancer linked with infection such as uterine cervix, liver, and stomach.
*Korean men have the highest rate of stomach cancer of all racial/ethnic groups.
*Vietnamese men have the highest rates of liver cancer for all racial/ethnic groups.
Sources:
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School – “National Minority Cancer Awareness Week: April 15-21, 2012.”
http://www.bet.com/news/health

Comments

  1. SMSChicaMarch 20, 2013 at 7:09 AM

    Very well written, though it is very upsetting and I hope that this can change in the near future with those statistics. I feel that what the media and fast food chains "feed" into us, cannot help these stats any better either.

    ReplyDelete

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