Black Americans are Dying of Cancer at Highest Rates

by

Dr. Robert Winn
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Black cancer rates still remain high. That’s according to a new report from the American Association for Cancer Research. The report also highlights that Black men and women have a 111% and 39% higher risk of dying from prostate cancer and breast cancer than whites.

Dr. Robert Winn, Director of the Massey Cancer Center at Virginia Commonwealth University says your zip code and where you live says a lot about your health. The stress of life and not having access to healthy food makes a difference. Even how doctors treat African American patients has an impact, especially if Black health concerns are blown off.

“It’s not just a Black thing because it’s something wrong with Black folk,” commented Dr. Winn. “It’s really much more nuanced and I think, to be honest with you, a more accurate measure, that it’s your environment and what you come with, your DNA, that puts us more at risk, which is why we have our higher numbers,” he added.

The report also states that in 2019, about 202,260 African Americans were diagnosed with cancer with 75,030 dying from it. 

Click ▶️ to listen to Jamie Jackson’s AURN News report:

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