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Shavon Johnson
Healthy Lifestyles Consumer Health Project
Healthy People 2020: Cancer Disparities
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As you know cancer is a dominant disease that affects millions of people a year and today
I would like to talk to you about the side effects our country is facing by the rise of this horrible
diagnosis. Most people don’t know exactly what cancer is, they just know that it is something
bad and hurtful to the human body. Cancer cells become invasive when they grow, and they
spread uncontrollably when compared to normal cells (National cancer institute). Normal cells
are very specific and specialized and when they replicate they mature into distinct cells and each
one has its own function. Cancer cells on the other hand divide uncontrollably without stopping
most of the time. Although I am trying to form better and more efficient treatment strategies
there are some out there. First line treatment for cancer usually starts with radiation therapy
which kills the cancer cells by x-ray or chemotherapy which is sometimes hard on the patient and
the family, but it uses chemicals to kill the cells. Surgery is more of a last result, but the purpose
is to try and remove the tumor altogether. Cancercenter.com quotes “Treatment options depend
on the type of cancer, its stage, if the cancer has spread and your general health. The goal of
treatment is to kill as many cancerous cells while reducing damage to normal cells nearby.”

Cancer ranks the second most common cause of death in the United States today
following cardiovascular disease. Eventually cancer will become the leading cause of death
considering that tens of millions are diagnosed each year and over half of the diagnosed end up
dying (Xiaomei Ma and Herbert Yu). Cancer continues to remain a huge health problem around
the globe because it is not something that we have found the cure to yet. I feel very passionate
that the cure for cancer is coming sometime soon and we have the knowledge and resources to
figure it out we just need to be more efficient and put things to use. Our country is getting better
with treatments and early detection, but we are still lacking the initial treatment that can get rid
of the disease itself and allow humans to live longer healthier lives.

I am trying to involve you in on this rising problem in our country because I believe you
can make a difference in helping to better our country. One person alone can’t fix this problem
and I myself cannot gather the resources to help me do this myself. I also cannot gather the
nation to feel as passionate about this issue as I do, but I know you as the president have all the
power to help us try and resolve this cancer epidemic. I am coming to you in time of need
because you have the access I need to make a change.
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Cancer, for the most part, affects the male population more than the female population.
According to the CDC, 2014 was the last accurate count for cases reported in cancer and the
cancer incidence rates were categorized by race and ethnicity. Taken straight from the CDC
website here are some statistics on death rates from previous years, “From 1999–2014, the rate
of people dying from cancer has varied, depending on their race and ethnicity. The graph below
shows that in 2014, among men, black men were more likely to die of cancer than any other
group, followed by white, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Asian/Pacific Islander
men. Among women, black women were more likely to die of cancer than any other group,
followed by white, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Asian/Pacific Islander
women.”

“The most commonly diagnosed cancers among black men are prostate (31% of all
cancers), lung (15%), and colon and rectum (9%). Among black women, the most common
cancers are breast (32% of all cancers), lung (11%), and colon and rectum (9%)” (American
cancer society). There are a variety of different factors that tie in when trying to figure out why
African Americans have such a high death rate when being diagnosed with cancer. A common
cause is just simply their genetics. African American patients with breast, ovarian and prostate
cancer still tend to die faster than other patients of different races with the same diagnosis and
treatment strategies. Another major factor influencing black’s high incidence rates are health
disparities. Not every race and culture have the health care needs that they may need to acquire,
and this plays a huge part in early detection and intervention. African American people usually
do not have the health care they need like those of other races and because of this they are
lacking the point of being able to get the help they need. Housing, education and work may also
be some involving factors in the health disparity involving cancer. I’ve noticed that a lot of
African Americans put their health on the back burner most of the time thinking things will fix
themselves but usually they just worsen.

My purpose in writing to you Mr. President is to reach out for your help and hope you
can see how passionate I feel about the cancer growing in our country today. I’ve come up with a
few solutions to our problems and with your help and execution I know we can make a change. I
would first like to ask you if you would kindly hold a conference on national television just
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talking about the importance of going to the doctors and keeping up with the health care you
need. Encourage people that going in for routine checkups and screenings is normal and it’s what
the nation should be doing. You are the president, people will listen to you. Also talk about the
importance of the disease and how terrible it is getting in our country and how we need to
address it now before it is too late.

I am a college student majoring in the nursing field, so I am extremely passionate about

this subject here and I have a proposal to make. Going to school and paying out of pocket is
often very difficult and I fortunately was blessed with the opportunity to attend college for free
on a scholarship, but I know it is not that easy for everybody out there. There are people with so
much potential and knowledge out there in the world graduations straight from high school and
some of them don’t have this opportunity to go to college like I do because of financial issues. I
think soon you should pass a law that grants students with a certain GPA and certain attendance
record in high school the ability to go to college on a state grant. Yes, I am aware of the state
grants and scholarships we have now but at most colleges that money doesn’t even put a dent in
student loans in the long run. I don’t think it’s fair how athletes who barely try in high school get
full rides to college for being good at a sport but kids that are academically smart barely get
anything or there may be like 5 kids from each high school who end up with a full ride
academically. Just take some time and think about all the opportunities we may be missing out
on by not sending some of our smart children of the nation to college. One of them can have the
cure to cancer in their brain and we are depleting them from the chance to express their
knowledge with the world.
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Works Cited
“Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 26 Apr. 2017, www.cdc.gov/.

“Comprehensive Cancer Information.” National Cancer Institute, www.cancer.gov/.

“Information and Resources about for Cancer: Breast, Colon, Lung, Prostate, Skin.” American
Cancer Society, www.cancer.org/.