Nov. 6, 2023 – Colorectal cancer disproportionately affects Black Americans, and access to care for the highly preventable disease is thought to be behind why this group isalso found that 26% of Black Americans are diagnosed with CRC that has already metastasized, meaning the cancer has spread to other places in the body.
Then there are disparities in treatment, which may come from a lack of health care access, including insurance coverage, transportation challenges, and the time required for treatment such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, she said."In addition, Black patients diagnosed with advanced-stage cancers require more intensive, expensive, and time-consuming treatment regimens that can be unattainable due to social and economic barriers," she said.Most likely, no.
But more research is needed. For now, researchers have very few clues as to why, when, and how these molecular and biological differences of CRC exist among various racial/ethnic and ancestral backgrounds, he said.as well. Researchers don’t know why this is exactly yet, but they think that poor diet, unhealthy bacteria in the gut, and inflammation may contribute to the cause. Colorectal polyps, which are growths that can turn into colon cancer, and colon cancer itself can come without symptoms.
Reading about Boseman’s journey is an important start to patient education. It’s also key to learn about the disease itself, plus how colon cancer screening works specifically. Then, writing down questions to bring to the doctor before screening is an excellent way to feel empowered, and to understand what specific test results will mean.“It’s challenging to determine the best age for screening if the patient doesn’t know their family history,” said Annunziata.