05/15/2024

The American Cancer Society Launches Study of Black Women

It hopes to better understand racial disparities around diagnoses and treatment

The American Cancer Society (ACS) has launched a wide-scale national study to better understand trends around Black women and their cancer risks.

VOICES of Black Women, announced by ACS on May 7, intends to enroll 100,000 women across 20 states and Washington, D.C., in a 30-year survey. Participants will receive regular questionnaires about their experiences and lifestyle, which ACS hopes will help reveal insights about inequities around diagnoses and treatments of cancer in Black women. 

Research shows that Black women under the age of 50 are 40 percent more likely to die of breast cancer than white women, said Dr. Alpa V. Patel, MPH, SVP of Population Science at ACS and co-principal investigator of the VOICES of Black Women study. The idea for the study was developed around six years ago, Patel said, as researchers became more alert to those disparities in cancer rates. After the pandemic, efforts around the initiative accelerated. 

Please select this link to read the complete article from Associations Now.