The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center has launched a new program focused on lowering the rates of colorectal cancer in the Black community.
Through this program, Black men and women, mainly in their mid-40s to mid-70s, who are patients at Ohio State are given “FIT” kits. These kits are meant to be performed at home and can help detect colon cancer by verifying whether there are tiny traces of blood in the stool. With this form of early detection, patients can go to get a colonoscopy and remove potentially cancerous growths before cancer moves to the advanced stages.
“As we navigate year three of a global pandemic that continues to cause disruptions to both life and medical treatment access, it is even more critical that we find ways to increase timely cancer screening adherence,” said gastroenterologist Dr. Subhankar Chakraborty in a press release. “Early detection is truly a matter of life or death in some cases. We want to catch the disease at its precancerous stage.”
Research has shown that colon cancer impacts members of the Black community more than any other group in the U.S. According to a report by the American Cancer Society, compared to other groups, Black Americans have an increased 20% chance of being diagnosed with this type of cancer. Even with treatment, there’s an increased 40% chance of passing away, making colon cancer the second most dangerous cancer in the community.
Black Americans are also getting colon cancer at younger ages. According to a report by the National Cancer Institute, young Black Americans are twice as likely as young white Americans to get early-onset colon cancer. Of these diagnoses, most end up being fatal.
A research study conducted by the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program at NCI monitored 28,145 participants aged 20 to 49 with stage II or stage III colon cancer throughout a 10-year period. They found that young Black Americans with stage II colon cancer were passing away before the five-year survival rate as they had an increased 60% to 70% chance of not making it.
A variety of reasons contribute to the increased rates of colon cancer amongst Black Americans. One of which is that Black Americans tend to get diagnosed at later stages. According to a report published by Harvard Medical School, Black Americans are mostly conflicted by colon cancer with origins in the right colon. These cancers in the right side of the colon are usually more difficult to detect, delaying the treatment process.
Disparities such as type of insurance and medical racism also affected treatment. In an analysis by the Department of Surgery at East Carolina University where they studied hospital data in the U.S., they found that those with Medicaid or no insurance had less of a chance of getting chemotherapy or surgery to remove the cancerous growth. Black Americans that had private insurance or Medicare still had less of a chance of getting removal surgery and those that did get surgery largely struggled to receive chemotherapy after the operation.
The at-home kits are part of a bigger program created by the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center to address these racial disparities and lower colon cancer rates amongst Black Americans. In addition to the kits, the medical center is working on providing patient navigators and high-quality treatment after a quick diagnosis.
