Thomas Daschle: “last week was National Minority Cancer Awareness Week, an annual event for the past 18 years. Though we have been…”

“last week was National Minority Cancer Awareness Week, an annual event for the past 18 years. Though we have been monitoring disparities in cancer for nearly two decades, the gap in some cancer mortalities has widened rather than narrowed. One of the most important reasons for this disparity is poor access to health care. People who do not get mammograms, colon exams, and Pap tests on schedule are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer at a later stage of the disease, when survival rates are lower. And why don't they get these necessary tests on time? Members of racial and ethnic minority groups are more likely to be poor, have lower education levels, and less likely to have health coverage or a source of primary care. Recently, I told the story of a young Indian girl who was misdiagnosed with heartburn at an under-funded Indian Health Service clinic. It turned out that she really had stomach cancer that had already spread and was, therefore, untreatable. I will remind you that this is not some rare exception. For Native Americans and other minority communities across the country, the miracles of modern medicine--and sometimes even the most basic primary care--are beyond their reach. The disparities within our health care system have reached a crisis point, and the consequences for America's minority communities are staggering. Overall, African Americans are more likely to develop cancer than persons of any other racial or ethnic group.”