Only 2 percent of cancer docs are Black, 3 percent Hispanic.

  Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the American Society of Clinical Oncology have partnered to create the Komen/ASCO Diversity in Oncology Initiative, which hopes to reduce health care disparities by boosting the number of minority cancer docs, The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Minorities disproportionately are affected by several forms of cancer, but only 2 percent of oncologists in the United States are Black; 3 percent are Hispanic, according to the Plain Dealer report.  “The gaps in disparity, especially in oncology, can only be closed with (the addition of more) individuals who are culturally competent, who in some way are able to relate and feel comfortable to these patients,” said Derek Raghavan, director of the Taussig Cancer Institute at the Cleveland Clinic and co-chair of ASCO’s Health Disparities Advisory Group. Socioeconomic factors, language and literacy barriers and a mistrust of the medical community also contribute to minorities’ access to quality health care, health experts say. “The ultimate endpoint is to improve survival rates,” Raghavan added. Using a multimillion-dollar grant from Komen over the next two years, the initiative will give monetary awards to support medical students with oncology rotations and a mentor; oncologists or oncology fellows who have completed training; and loan repayments; and travel to annual ASCO meetings.
Black women in Florida county die younger than others. Black women are dying at a younger age than White women from a number of conditions, including HIV/AIDS, heart disease and diabetes, The Florida Times-Union reports. The report by the county Center for Health Statistics is based on government figures form 2006. It looks at the years of potential life lost, which, according to center coordinator Rebecca Filipowicz, tabulates “years that were lost that shouldn’t have been.” The barometer for Black women is nearly 50 percent higher than for Whites, she said. “As with a lot of the health issues we study, there’re major health disparities, especially with race and geographic distribution.” Women living in primarily Black Jacksonville communities had the highest rates of heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Filipowicz said that even though such conditions are preventable, many women cannot afford health care or they might not know enough about their health to recognize a problem. The report noted that about one in five Black women was uninsured, compared with one in 10 White women. A similar report released earlier this year focusing on men also found that Blacks were dying from preventable diseases, in large part because of limited access to medical care, according to the Times-Union.

TAGS: black, black women, cancer, death, doctors, florida, Hispanic, young

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