>> THE >> DEATH RATE FROM CANCER IN THE UNITED STATES DROPPED 43% BETWEEN 1989 IN 2020, ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY.

DESPITE THIS HOPEFUL NEWS, CANCER MORTALITY RATES STILL REMAIN 40% HIGHER FOR BLACK WOMEN THAN WHITE WOMEN.

BLACK WOMEN ARE ALSO LESS LIKELY TO BE DIAGNOSED AND LESS LIKELY TO RECEIVE TREATMENT.

JOINING US NOW WITH MORE ON THIS PRESENT DAY DISPARITIES AND HOW TO ADDRESS ARE DOCTOR LAKSHMI, EMORY CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER A BETTER HEALTH OF ILLINOIS.

SHE HERSELF IS A CANCER SURVIVOR AND PARIS THOMAS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF EQUAL HOPE.

THANKS TO BOTH FOR JOINING US.

THANK YOU.

DOCTOR EMERY, LET'S START WITH YOU, PLEASE.

AS A CANCER SURVIVOR YOURSELF, GIVE US A SENSE OF WHY EARLY DETECTION IS SO IMPORTANT.

EARLY DETECTION IS JUST THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THIS WHOLE STORY.

>> SO I WAS FOUND AT STAGE ONE BECAUSE I HAD ANNUAL SCREENINGS AND I WAS FOUND AT THE POINT WHERE I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A MASK.

I JUST HAD KALFSBECK HAITIANS.

MY MAMMOGRAM.

SO I WAS ABLE TO HAVE TREATMENT THAT DIDN'T INCLUDE CHEMO.

I HAD SURGERY RADIATION AND WAS ABLE TO TAKE THE MEDICATION FOR 5 YEARS.

THAT HELPS TO PREVENT RECURRENCE.

I'M CURRENTLY A 5 YEAR SURVIVOR.

THANK GOODNESS.

CONGRATULATIONS.

THANK YOU.

I THINK IT'S JUST REALLY IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE ARE NOT HESITANT ABOUT GETTING SCREENING.

IT'S IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU DON'T BURY YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND ARE AFRAID OF GETTING SCREENED.

MAKE SURE TO GET YOUR SCREENINGS ANNUALLY.

STARTING AT AGE 40 AND ALSO MAKE SURE TO GO TO YOUR DOCTOR IF YOU FEEL ANYTHING IF YOU NOTICE ANYTHING DIFFERENT.

IF YOU NOTICE A MASK, IF YOU NOTICE IN THE PEOPLE DISCHARGE, IF YOU NOTICE SKIN CHANGES IN YOUR, GET IT CHECKED OUT.

DON'T PUT YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND.

WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET TREATMENT EARLY BECAUSE SURVIVAL IS SO MUCH GREATER IF IT'S DONE EARLY AND WANT TO COME BACK TO SCREENINGS AND THAT KIND OF SOMETHING THAT YOU MENTIONED A LITTLE BIT, PARIS.

>> WHY DO THESE DISPARITIES BETWEEN BLACK AND WHITE WOMEN EXIST AT ALL?

>> HERE IN CHICAGO, THE DISPARITY OF ACTUALLY GREATER THAN OTHER CITIES.

WE HAVE ONE OF THE GREATEST DISPARITY REALLY BECAUSE OF STRUCTURAL RACISM.

WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE ACTUAL QUALITY OF CARE THAT BLACK WOMEN ARE RECEIVING AS FAR AS CANCER SCREENING AS WELL AS TREATMENT.

IT IS NOT ALWAYS POLITY.

WHEN YOU LOOK AT SET UP, SOME STATES HAVE SYSTEMS THAT ARE CONTROLLED BY 2 MAJOR HOSPITALS ARE 2 MAJOR SYSTEMS.

WE HAVE A LOT OF MEDICAL SYSTEMS HERE IN CHICAGO, WHICH MEANS THAT THEY'RE NOT FUNNELING THE SAME RESOURCES SPECIFICALLY AND LOW RESOURCE COMMUNITY HOSPITALS.

THEY'RE NOT GETTING THE SAME RESOURCES.

SOME OF OUR HUGE CREDIT CANCER PROGRAMS, ACADEMIC CENTERS.

>> TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE WORK THAT EQUAL HOPE IT DOES TO ENSURE THAT WOMEN ARE FEELING SUPPORTED.

EQUAL HOPE IS A COMMUNITY-BASED MODEL.

WE'RE DOING OUTREACH, EDUCATION AND PATIENT NAVIGATION, SPECIFICALLY TO WOMEN OF COLOR IN THE WEST AND SOUTH SIDE OF CHICAGO, ENSURING THAT THEY HAVE ACCESS TO SCREENING MAMMOGRAMS AT NO COST ENSURING THEY HAVE.

>> ASSISTANCE WITH AN ARSON OF A GATORS ALL THE WAY.

THE TREATMENT TO BE AN ADVOCATE ON BEHALF OF THEM.

>> DOCTOR MURRAY STUDY SHOW THAT BLACK PATIENTS ARE TAKEN LESS SERIOUSLY WHEN THEY REPORT A HEALTH ISSUE TO THEIR PHYSICIAN ARE MORE LIKELY TO DISTRUST THEIR PROVIDER HOW DOES THAT MISTRUST HEALTH OUTCOMES?

AND AS AS AS A PHYSICIAN WHO OVERCOME THAT?

WELL, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE PHYSICIANS AND PROVIDERS WHO ARE OF THE SAME ETHNICITY, THE SAME CULTURE.

SO I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE PIPELINE OF PROVIDERS KNOW COMING THROUGH GOING THROUGH MEDICAL SCHOOL.

WE KNOW THAT THEY'RE LESS MEDICAL STUDENTS NOW THAN WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST.

WHO ARE OF COLOR.

AND I THINK THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED.

SO WE NEED TO LOOK AT PROGRAMS.

LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, AT CERTAIN SCHOLARSHIPS AND MAKE SURE THAT THOSE ARE FUNDED, KNOW SO THAT WE HAVE MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR TO BECOME PHYSICIANS AND BECOME PROVIDERS.

IN ADDITION, THOUGH, I THINK AS A PEOPLE, WE NEED TO LOOK AT THAT MISTRUST AND THINK ABOUT WHERE IT COMES FROM.

YOU KNOW, THE TUSKEGEE EXPERIMENT.

THERE ARE LOTS OF DIFFERENT EXAMPLES THROUGHOUT HISTORY.

AND, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS WELL-FOUNDED DISTRUST OF THE MEDICAL SYSTEM, BUT TIMES HAVE CHANGED.

AND WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE IN POSITIONS OF POWER NOW IN THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY.

AND IF WE'RE TELLING YOU GET YOUR MAMMOGRAMS, GET YOUR SCREENINGS, YOU KNOW, GO AHEAD AND DO IT.

YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO TAKE THAT STEP AND BE AN ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF.

SO I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE JUST PUT SOME OF THAT BEHIND US AND GO AHEAD AND TRUST THE SYSTEM.

MAKE SURE THAT WE KNOW, THE STATISTICS KNOW OUR BODIES KNOW OUR BASELINE IN TERMS OF WHAT OUR BODY NORMALLY FEELS LIKE.

IF THERE'S SOMETHING DIFFERENT, WE NEED TO GET CHECKED OUT THAT THAT LOOKED AT.

WE'RE LOOKING AT SOME VIDEO OF MAMMOGRAPHY AT WORK RIGHT NOW.

PARIS, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE COMMON >> MYTHS THAT YOU HAVE TO DISPEL ABOUT MAMMOGRAMS?

YEAH, OF THE COMING INCLUDE THINGS SUCH AS THAT MAMMOGRAMS HEART.

YES, THEY'RE JUST COMFORTABLE, BUT THEY DON'T HURT WHEN YOU GET A MAMMOGRAM.

>> OTHER MYTHS INCLUDE JUST EXPOSURE TO RADIATION.

SOME WOMEN BELIEVE THEY GETTING A ANNUAL MAMMOGRAM IS INCREASING THEIR EXPOSURE, INCREASING THEIR CHANCES OF CANCER, WHICH IS NOT TRUE.

WE'VE ACTUALLY SEEN A VERY MINIMAL MARCH AS FAR AS WOMEN WHO ARE GETTING ANNUAL SCREENINGS.

AND WE KNOW THAT IT SAVES LIVES.

SO WE KNOW THAT IT IS CRUCIAL TO THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE.

A DOCTOR HIM OR YOU MENTIONED THAT, YOU KNOW, STARTING AT AGE 40 IS WHEN WOMEN NEED TO START GETTING MAMMOGRAMS.

BUT WHAT ABOUT FOR WOMEN THAT MIGHT HAVE A HISTORY AND HOW THAT AGE RECOMMENDATION CHANGES?

YES, GREAT POINT.

SO THAT IS DIFFERENT.

SO IF YOU HAVE A FIRST-DEGREE RELATIVE, SO FOR INSTANCE, YOUR MOTHER, YOUR WHO HAD CANCER THAN YOU NEED TO GET TESTED 10 YEARS EARLIER THAN WHEN THEIR CANCER, KURT.

SO LET'S SAY, FOR INSTANCE, >> THEY HAD CANCER AT AGE 50.

THEN YOU NEED TO START GETTING YOUR SCREENS AT 40.

AND IF THEY HAD A 40 THE NEED TO GET IT AT 30.

SO IT DOES DEPEND.

THERE ARE DIFFERENT RISK FACTORS THAT CAN CONTRIBUTE TO HIGHER RISK OF CANCER.

SO THOSE FOR ER FOR AVERAGE RISK WOMEN.

IF YOU HAVE A FAMILY HISTORY OTHER RISK FACTORS NEED TO CHECK WITH YOUR PROVIDER OR YOUR PHYSICIAN TO SEE WHEN YOU'RE SCREENING SHOULD BEGIN.

PARIS, WE'VE GOT ABOUT 2030, SECONDS LEFT, BUT HOW CAN WE BETTER THE BARRIERS THAT KEEP BLACK WOMEN FROM GETTING THE HELP THEY NEED?

YES, SO WE CAN ADDRESS BARRIERS BY HAVING COMMUNITY MODELS.

I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO HAVE COMMUNITY BASED COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS AND PATIENTS HAVE A GATORS IN PLACE AS WELL AS >> EDUCATION SYSTEM.

IT'S REALLY CRITICAL THAT PEOPLE LOOK LIKE THE INDIVIDUALS BEING SERVED.

AND THAT'S ONE