Malcolm X once said that “The most disrespected American is the Black Woman. The most vulnerable American is the Black Woman.” Unfortunately, Black Women appear at a disadvantage at almost every turn when it comes to their health. Many issues arise due to socioeconomic conditions, their environment, genetics, and less access to healthcare practices. This often leads to major health issues, including metastatic breast cancer. According to The Black Women’s Health Imperative, Black women experience a 40% higher rate of breast cancer mortality and death than white women. Even worse, younger women are more liable to develop breast cancer before the age of 40.
Fortunately, researchers are working around the clock to find new ways to combat the cancer. However, a recent study showed that clinical trials often leave many Black patients skeptical about the new treatments available. While most Black female patients show a willingness to participate in these test trials, a vast majority of them don’t trust the healthcare system.
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Why Black Patients Are Rejecting Clinical Trials?
Furthermore, a press conference for the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting was held back in May to go over the recent findings of a survey completed involving the matter.
The team conducted the survey on behalf of the BECOME initiative, which aims at understanding why Black patients with metastatic breast cancer were less likely to participate in new treatments than their white counterparts. The test was administered on social media by members of the Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance.
Further details reveal that the survey involved 424 patients living with the life-threatening disease. However, only 102 patients identified as Black women.
In the team’s findings, 83% of Black patients with metastatic breast cancer were interested in participating in clinical trials. However, 40% revealed that their care team didn’t inform them of any information before administering the clinical trials.
The fact that a percentage of Black patients had no prior information before participating in the new treatments reveals a glaring issue. One of the biggest reasons why Black patients rejected treatments hinged on the lack of prior information. The survey demonstrated that a vast majority of Black patients voiced their concerns over side effects, effectiveness, logistics, travel and additional costs.
Additionally, patients believed that “unstudied trials” could jeopardize their health. Basically, they wanted to weigh the risks against the benefits before making an informed decision.
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Even worse, Black patients held an overall mistrust of white practitioners and feared that they may not be treated with the same care as others.
It’s no secret that the healthcare system doesn’t have Black America’s best interest in mind. The survey, conducted by the BECOME initiative, found that Black women with metastatic breast cancer were more willing to believe a doctor of the same race.
They responded well to doctors who’ve also had experience with metastatic breast cancer themselves. Shared experiences between a patient and doctor often yield more positive results in the end.
Basically, healthcare centers aren’t informing Black patients the same as they are with white patients. Thus, the results based on the effectiveness of new treatments for metastatic breast cancer remain one-sided.
How can we truly measure the success of a new drug if everyone doesn’t participate? Because Black women carry the highest risk of developing metastatic breast cancer, healthcare should make it a priority to fix this problem.
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What Steps Are Needed To Ensure The Participation Of Black Patients?
Fortunately, plans to increase participation from Black patients have already been made. Head lead of the survey and member of the BECOME initiative, Stephanie Walker, believes that several changes need to be made. Many of them include healthcare providers better informing patients, establishing a level of trust, ensuring access to clinical trials, and addressing patient concerns upfront.
Additionally, Walker asks that stakeholders expand the survey to larger groups of Black participants, in hopes of gaining more information on their experience with the disease. Walker stated that Members of the BECOME initiative have plans to meet with other groups to share results and improve health care systems.
Furthermore, Walker wants more educational programs to help doctors better communicate with Black female patients and provide them better access to test trials. “To address the concerns that we have, you need to communicate clearly about the issues and worries that metastatic breast cancer patients have. You have to understand that some of the compelling motivation for Black patients to participate in clinical trials is to ensure that people like them will benefit,” Walker says.
Hopefully, with these measures in place, healthcare professionals can improve care for Black women dealing with metastatic breast cancer. More importantly, they can save more Black lives.
