LISTEN: Research shows Black women are more likely to get cancer and live fewer years than those in other racial or ethnic groups. A new study from the American Cancer Society seeks to understand why. GPB’s Ellen Eldridge has more.
Georgia is one of 20 states enrolling participants in the largest behavioral and environmental focused population study of cancer risk and outcomes in Black women in the United States.
This year, an estimated 63,170 Georgians will be diagnosed with cancer and 18,740 are expected to die from the disease, according to the American Cancer Society.
The VOICES of Black Women study will track 100,000 women nationwide over 30 years to examine what causes cancer, determines its mortality, and affects resilience among Black women.
Past population cohort studies from the American Cancer Society have included individuals of all sexes and races to understand how cancer develops in populations, identify cancer risk factors, and improve survivorship and outcomes after diagnosis.
"This study is really designed to dig deep into understanding the multiple drivers of cancer risk and outcomes among Black women, so that we can really understand how to collectively address them," said Dr. Alpa Patel, co-principal investigator of the study and senior vice president of population science at the American Cancer Society.
Patel said a pilot launch in Atlanta last fall enrolled a few hundred women to make sure that study protocols were acceptable and working as intended.
Now Black women in 20 states and Washington, D.C., can join the observational study.
"The 20 states where we will be conducting enrollment for Voices of Black Women, plus D.C., collectively account for about 90% of the Black population in the United States, according to U.S. Census data," Patel said.
Participants are not asked to take any sort of medication or visit with doctors. Instead, researchers want to learn about what people are doing in everyday life.
"We'll ask about things that I consider to be more traditional, things like tobacco use, alcohol use, exercise and diet," Patel said. "We'll ask about medical and family history and other aspects of reproductive history."
Also, questions about things that haven't been studied.
"We're going to ask about things like personal care products, chemical straighteners for hair," she said. "We're going to ask about things like caregiving and social support, as well as generational wealth discrimination and bias."
Every six months, a lifestyle and health survey is sent to collect updated information.
"Ultimately, our goal is to help," Patel said. "Learn how and why Black women have some of the highest death rates and shortest survival of any racial ethnic group in the U.S. for most types of cancer."
Participants from diverse backgrounds between the ages of 25 and 55 are eligible to enroll, if they never had a cancer diagnosis.
