100,000 Black women are being asked to take part in cancer study

WALKING OUT OF THE COMMENCEMENT NEW THIS MORNING, THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY ANNOUNCED THE LAUNCH. OF ITS NEW STUDY, TITLED VOICES OF BLACK WOMEN. IT’S EXPECTED TO BE THE LARGEST BEHAVIORAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL FOCUSED POPULATION STUDY OF CANCER RISK WHEN IT COMES TO BLACK WOMEN. AND THIS MORNING, WE WELCOME RESEARCHER DOCTOR ALPA PATEL. SHE IS THE SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF POPULATION SCIENCE. DOCTOR PATEL, GOOD MORNING. THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. GOOD MORNING. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. THIS IS A GROUNDBREAKING STUDY. EXPLAIN MORE ABOUT WHAT THE STUDY IS TRYING TO DETERMINE. SO WE’RE AIMING TO PARTNER WITH 100,000 BLACK WOMEN WHO ARE BETWEEN THE AGES OF 25 AND 55 AND HAVE NEVER BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER, AND WILL COLLECT A WIDE RANGE OF INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THESE WOMEN LIVE, WHERE THEY WORK, WHERE THEY PLAY, AND REALLY UNDERSTAND THE LIVED EXPERIENCE. VOICES OF THESE INDIVIDUALS SO THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND HOW THOSE FACTORS INFLUENCE THE LIKELIHOOD THAT THEY MAY DEVELOP CANCER OR OTHER HEALTH OUTCOMES. AS ONE OF THE THINGS I READ IN THE NEWS RELEASE IS THAT BLACK WOMEN CONTINUE TO HAVE THE HIGHEST DEATH RATE, AND THE SHORTEST SURVIVAL OF ANY RACIAL OR ETHNIC GROUP IN THE US. FOR MOST CANCERS, WHY DO YOU BELIEVE THOSE DISPARITIES EXIST? WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE DIFFERENCES IN ACCESS TO QUALITY CARE FOR PREVENTIVE SERVICES FOR EARLY DETECTION, AS WELL AS TREATMENT. BUT THERE’S A LOT THAT WE DON’T KNOW. WE DON’T KNOW ABOUT HOW DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS OR LIFESTYLE FACTORS MAY INFLUENCE THAT. WE DON’T KNOW AS MUCH AS WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WHERE YOU LIVE AND HOW THAT CAN AFFECT WHETHER YOU LIVE. SO THIS STUDY IS REALLY GOING TO BE POWERFUL IN HELPING US UNDERSTAND THAT. AND IDENTIFY WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN EFFECTIVELY THEN INTERVENE. DOCTOR PATEL, I MEAN, I HAVE TO PLAY DEVIL’S ADVOCATE HERE. AS YOU KNOW, THERE IS A GENERAL DISTRUST BETWEEN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY AND MEDICINE. HOW IS IT THAT YOU ARE GOING TO RECRUIT THE NUMBER OF WOMEN THAT YOU SEEK FOR THIS STUDY? WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WILL SAY TO THEM TO GET THEM TO ULTIMATELY PARTICIPATE? THAT HISTORIC MISTRUST IS VERY REAL AND HAS BEEN CENTRAL IN THE WAY WE’VE DESIGNED OUR APPROACH AROUND THIS STUDY. SO WE’RE REALLY DOING THIS. I OFTEN SAY THAT WE’RE DOING THIS WITH BLACK WOMEN, NOT FOR BLACK WOMEN, BECAUSE THIS IS A PARTNERSHIP. AND EVEN WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR OWN STUDY TEAM, THE MAJORITY OF THE WOMEN ON OUR SCIENTIFIC TEAM, AS WELL AS OUR SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD, ARE BLACK AND BROWN WOMEN WHO ARE EXPERTS IN BLACK WOMEN’S HEALTH. SO WE’VE BEEN REALLY INTENTIONAL ABOUT WHO WE’RE ENGAGING, HOW WE’RE ENGAGING SO THAT WE CAN HOPEFULLY BUILD THAT TRUST. THAT IS SO ESSENTIAL TO THE SUCCESS OF THE STUDY. DOCTOR PATEL, WE HAVE ABOUT 15 SECONDS. HOW CAN PEOPLE PARTICIPATE IF THEY’RE INTERESTED? I WOULD ENCOURAGE ANYONE WHO’S INTERESTED TO GO TO VOICES DOT CANCER.ORG. YOU CAN LEARN ALL ABOUT THE STUDY AND PARTICIPATE RIGHT FROM THAT WEBSITE. AWESOME. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US THIS MORNING. WE APPRECIATE IT, AND WE’RE GOING TO LOOK FORWARD TO CHECKING BACK IN WITH YOU AS WELL TO SEE HOW THIS STUD