April is Cancer Control Month
According to the American Cancer Society, April is Cancer Control Month with a whole week dedicated to National Minority Awareness. In a recent article, dated February 2, 2005, from the American Cancer Society states, “African American’s are most likely to die of colon cancer than any other ethnic group in the U.S., despite ways to prevent and even cure the disease today.”
Black men in particular have a cancer death rate 40% higher than that of white men. Cancer death rates as a whole are dropping yearly but the gap between blacks and whites still remains large. According to the American Cancer Society, “Colon cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death among both African-American men and women.” Why such vast differences between races could be due to poverty or possibly lifestyle.
It is advised that families and individuals use every resource possible to lower their risk of cancer. Those who delay getting exams that can find cancer early are missing out on a chance to catch cancerous or precancerous growths that could be removed early and increase the odds for survival. To learn more about cancer among minorities, log onto http://www.cancer.org
