Cancer and minorities : Learning from the differences in prevalence, survival, and mortality

✍ Scribed by Edward J. Sondik

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 261 KB
• Volume: 83
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0008-543X
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(19981015)83:8+<1757::aid-cncr18>3.0.co;2-2

✦ Synopsis

Statistics shed light on the causes, risk factors, and forces that influence cancer's prevalence, survival, and mortality. Data help chart the course and are the basis for determining that, although all population groups have benefitted from the progress against cancer, there are distinct disparities among these groups, disparities that challenge both public health and basic research. This presentation examined cancer patterns by race and ethnicity as an essential element of understanding differences, identifying disparities, and moving forward to meet special needs through research, prevention, and improved public and private health services. Cancer is the second leading cause of death, accounting for about onefourth of all deaths in the United States in 1995. Just recently, there has been real progress in reducing cancer mortality, with declines in breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer. The data show that black men have higher incidence, higher mortality, and lower survival from all cancers combined than white men.

Cancer incidence among black women, however, is lower than among white women. Despite the lower incidence, black women have higher mortality and therefore lower survival than white women. These differences in cancer experience