In a new report from the American Cancer Society, Black men and women are more likely than other races to die from uterine, breast, and prostate cancer. According to the data, cancer deaths have decreased by 33% since 1991.
Prostate cancer deaths, in particular, have been increasing by 3% each year since 2014 after decades of decline. This is due in part to doctors catching prostate cancer at later stages of progression, which makes it more difficult to treat. Black men are especially at risk; they're two to three times more likely to die from prostate cancer than men from other racial groups.
Black women are also at an especially higher risk of developing cancer than other racial groups. 40% of Black women are more likely to die from breast cancer than white women; they also have the highest death rates for uterine cancer.
Despite the fact that Black women are less likely than white women to be diagnosed with uterine and breast cancer, this disparity persists.
Although these findings are concerning, there have still been significant improvements. Women's cervical cancer rates decreased by 65% between 2012 and 2019. The American Cancer Society has stated that it is working on reducing prostate cancer rates through their new initiative called IMPACT, an acronym for Improving Mortality from Prostate Cancer Together.
According to the report, treatment strategies to improve life expectancy for women with uterine cancer have also been successful.
The disparities in life expectancy for Black men and women are a direct result of medical racism. Black health does not receive the same level of care and attention, but instead it is treated as a non-issue and leads to horrifying death rates.
Source: The Root
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