Death rates from cancer have been declining among both African American men and women according
to Cancer Facts & Figures for African Americans 2007-2008. Yet the cancer death rate among African American men is still 35% higher than that for white men, and 18% higher in African American women compared to white women. In fact, for most cancers, African Americans have the highest death rate and shortest survival rate than any other racial or ethnic group.
Facts About Cancer Among African Americans
Overall, African Americans are more likely to develop and die from cancer than any other racial or ethnic population.
African Americans are more likely to be diagnosed at a later stage of cancer than whites.
African Americans are less likely than whites to survive 5 years after a diagnosis with most forms
of cancer, at any stage of diagnosis.
Despite its preventable nature, colon cancer continues to kill a disproportionate number of African Americans each year. Colorectal cancer incidence rates among African American men and women are about 17% higher than in white men and women.
African American women have a lower incidence rate of breast cancer than white women. Yet black women are more likely to die of breast cancer than white women.
Reasons for these differences aren’t completely understood, but economic and social gaps are believed
to play a large role. Nearly a quarter of African Americans in the US live in poverty, and 20% are uninsured. People who are poor and uninsured are more likely to have their cancers found later, when harder to treat, and they are more likely to receive substandard care.
"Access to insurance and health care as well as health education play an important role in one’s health,
but a lot of African Americans do not have access to these tools,” said Durado Brooks, MD, Director of Prostate and Colorectal Cancers at the American Cancer Society. “There is need for more focus on improving socioeconomic factors and providing educational opportunities that can help further lessen cancer’s unequal burden on African Americans.”
Review some frequently asked questions and answers about African Americans and cancer – particularly why cancer death rates are 35% higher in African American than whites.
Visit our library for more information about specific cancers >>
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