ACS launches long-term study on Black women’s health

LEADING KILLER. WE ALL KNOW SOMEONE WHO’S BATTLED IT OR LOST FRIENDS OR LOVED ONES TO IT. CANCER DOESN’T DISCRIMINATE, BUT IT DOES HIT CERTAIN GROUPS OF PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY HARD. BLACK WOMEN, FOR EXAMPLE, CONTINUE TO HAVE THE HIGHEST DEATH RATE AND SHORTEST SURVIVAL OF ANY RACIAL OR ETHNIC GROUP IN THE U.S. FOR MOST CANCERS, THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY SAYS 1 IN 6 BLACK WOMEN WILL DIE FROM CANCER. IT’S WHY RESEARCHERS ARE LAUNCHING THE LARGEST STUDY OF ITS KIND TO TRY AND GET ANSWERS AND SAVE LIVES. THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY WANTS TO SPEND THE NEXT 30 YEARS FOLLOWING 100,000 BLACK WOMEN LOOKING INTO BEHAVIORAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, FOCUSING ON CANCER RISK AND OUTCOMES IN THE U.S., IT’S CALLED VOICES OF BLACK WOMEN, AND MISSOURI IS ONE OF 20 STATES, ALONG WITH WASHINGTON, D.C., TAKING PART IN THIS MASSIVE STUDY. PLACES WHERE THE CENSUS SHOWS MORE THAN 90% OF THE NATION’S BLACK WOMEN LIVE. LET’S GET TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER WITH DOCTOR LAUREN MCCULLOUGH, WITH THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY JOINING US FROM ATLANTA. DOCTOR, THANK YOU FOR COMING ON. LET’S START WITH THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS STUDY, BECAUSE IT CANNOT BE OVERSTATED. ABSOLUTELY. UM, WELL, I’VE BEEN ENGAGED IN CANCER ADVOCACY AND RESEARCH FOR ABOUT TWO DECADES, AND FOR THE LAST 12 YEARS HAVE HAD REALLY AN EXCLUSIVE FOCUS ON CANCER HEALTH DISPARITIES AND MINORITY HEALTH. AND THAT RESEARCH HAS BEEN LARGELY FOCUSED ON BLACK WOMEN. AND THIS IS BECAUSE BLACK WOMEN HAVE BEEN SO UNDERREPRESENTED IN MEDICAL RESEARCH AND REALLY HAVEN’T BENEFITED EQUITABLY FROM DECADES OF MEDICAL ADVANCEMENTS. WE KNOW THAT BLACK WOMEN HAVE LOWER LIFE EXPECTANCIES, HIGHER RATES OF COMORBIDITIES, AND AMONG THE GREATEST POVERTY RATES OF OTHER RACIAL GROUPS IN THE US AND FOR CANCER, SPECIFICALLY BLACK WOMEN ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE DIAGNOSED WITH LATE STAGE TUMORS. AGGRESSIVE TYPES OF CANCER, AND HAVE A HIGHER CANCER MORTALITY THAN THAN THEIR COUNTERPART. AND SO WITH THIS SORT OF BACKGROUND AND KNOWLEDGE, WE DECIDED THAT IT WAS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THIS POPULATION AND THUS THE VOICES OF BLACK WOMEN. YOU MENTIONED ALL THESE DISPARITIES. HEALTH CARE ACCESS IS A HUGE ONE. HOW WERE YOU ABLE TO HONE IN ON THOSE DISPARITIES AND THE ISSUES? AND MAYBE SOME SOLUTIONS WITH THIS STUDY? ABSOLUTELY. THE DISPARITIES HAVE EXISTED FOR MORE THAN THREE DECADES, AND THERE’S BEEN A LOT OF RESEARCH TO TRY AND UNDERSTAND WHY THIS GAP HEALTH CARE ACCESS HAS EMERGED AS ONE OF THE TOP CONTRIBUTORS TO DISPARITIES. BUT IT IS NOT THE ONLY ONE. UM, FOR EXAMPLE, IN BREAST CANCER, WE SEE THAT THE BLACK WHITE DISPARITY IS ACTUALLY THE LARGEST AMONG WOMEN WHO WE PERCEIVE AS HAVING ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE. AND THAT INCLUDES WOMEN WITH INSURANCE, WOMEN THAT LIVE IN HIGHER SOCIOECONOMIC NEIGHBORHOODS. AND SO THERE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING THAT WE REALLY HAVEN’T BEGUN TO UNDERSTAND. AND IT’S ONE OF THE REASONS THAT WE COVER THE BREADTH OF EXPOSURES THAT WE DO IN VOICES OF BLACK WOMEN TO REALLY UNDERSTAND HOW ALL OF THEIR EXPERIENCES, INCLUDING HEALTH CARE ACCESS, BUT ALSO THEIR ENVIRONMENTS WHERE THEY LIVE, THEIR SOCIAL NETWORKS AND SOCIAL SUPPORT. WRIGHT EXPERIENCES OF RACISM, DISCRIMINATION, HOW ALL OF THOSE THINGS COLLECTIVELY MAY INFLUENCE A WOMAN’S OUTCOME OR DIAGNOSIS OF OF CANCER. HOW CAN SOMEONE TAKE PART IN THIS? AND WHAT IS THE PROCESS LOOK LIKE? SO IF YOU’RE INTERESTED IN JOINING VOICES OF BLACK WOMEN, WE’VE TRIED TO MAKE THIS INCREDIBLY EASY. EVERYTHING CAN BE DONE ONLINE, AND ALL OF OUR ONLINE MATERIALS ARE OPTIMIZED FOR MOBILE USE. SO YOU CAN DO IT RIGHT FROM YOUR CELL PHONE. SO IF YOU ARE A BLACK WOMAN, BETWEEN THE AGES OF 25 AND 55 AND HAVE NEVER BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER EXCEPT FOR BASAL OR SQUAMOUS CELL CANCER, AND YOU LIVE IN ONE OF OUR 20 ELIGIBLE STATES PLUS D.C., THEN YOU CAN GO ONLINE AND CONFIRM YOUR ELIGIBILITY CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE STUDY, AND THEN COMPLETE A SHORT REGISTRATION SURVEY, WHICH CAPTURES BASICALLY YOUR DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION NAME, ADDRESS, EMAIL, PHONE NUMBER, UM, AND THAT’S GOING TO ALLOW US TO FOLLOW UP WITH YOU OVER THE NEXT 30 YEARS. AND THEN YOU WOULD TAKE A ONE HOUR SURVEY, WHICH WE’RE CALLING A LIFE AND HEALTH HISTORY SURVEY, WHICH IS GOING TO CAPTURE THOSE THINGS THAT I MENTIONED. YOUR EXPOSURES, YOUR ENVIRONMENT, WHERE YOU LIVE, YOUR BEHAVIORS LIKE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND DIET, AS WELL AS THOSE EXPERIENCES OF RACISM, DISCRIMINATION, SOCIAL SUPPORT AND QUALITY OF LIFE. AFTER THAT, YOU’VE COMPLETELY ENROLLED IN THE VOICES OF BLACK WOMEN, AND WE’LL FOLLOW UP WITH YOU. UM, EVERY SIX MONTHS OR SO, YOU WILL FILL OUT A QUICK 30 MINUTE SURVEY. SO OVER THE NEXT 30 YEARS, BASICALLY, WE WOULD ASK YOU FOR AN HOUR OF YOUR TIME EACH YEAR, AND THAT WOULD HAVE SUBSTANTIAL IMPACT ON IMPROVING OUR KNOWLEDGE AROUND THE HEALTH OF BLACK WOMEN, SPECIFICALLY FOR CANCER. WELL, WE WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK, DOCTOR LAUREN MCCULLOUGH WITH THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR INSIGHT. AGAIN, RESEARCHERS ARE LOOKING FOR BLACK WOMEN BETWEEN 25 AND 55 YEARS OLD WITH NO HISTORY OF CANCER DIAGNOSIS. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO YOUR PART TO HELP S

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