Funded by the 2022 Victory Ride to Cure Cancer
Black patients are more likely to die from breast, prostate, lung, and colorectal cancers than White patients. There are many reasons for these differences, including difficulty receiving life-saving treatment. New treatments that match the type of cancer a patient has to specific drugs have been developed and has changed the way we treat the disease. The first step to getting these new treatments is for patient’s tumors to be tested for specific changes. However, Black patients are less likely to receive these tests and to receive the relevant treatment. If progress is not made in improving access to testing, Black patients will continue to have lower access to these lifesaving treatments, causing even bigger differences in survival. In this study, we will develop a program to understand the needs of Black cancer patients and provide support to ensure that they receive appropriate tests and treatment. To help design the program, we will interview Black patients and healthcare providers on what the needs are and provide navigation support to patients. We will measure how effective the program is in increasing testing and treatment among Black patients. In the future, we hope to use this data to develop broader strategies that will improve Black patients’ access to tests, clinical trials, and treatment.
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