Nat “King” Cole was indeed a royal figure in American popular music during the golden age of jazz.
The classic jazz pianist, composer, and singer had the world at his fingertips from earning notoriety for his smooth, silky voice.
He was also the first African American artist to host his own television program, solidifying his place in the hearts and minds of Americans that cut across racial lines. He was also a staunch civil rights figure and worked alongside other icons of the movement like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Harry Belafonte. He was a king.
That’s why the world seemed to come to a halt when his death was announced in 1965 three weeks after he underwent surgery to remove a collapsed cancerous lung. He was 45.
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At the time, not much was known about lung cancer, leaving everyone shocked that the procedure didn’t ultimately save his life. Now, we’ve learned more about the illness and its origin.
Lung Cancer in the Black Community
Lung cancer is a type of cancer that begins in the lungs, which is a spongy organ that receives oxygen and expels poisonous carbon dioxide. It’s widely known that people who smoke have the greatest risk of lung cancer, though it can also occur in people who have never smoked.
The risk of lung cancer increases the more and longer you’ve smoked. If you quit, even after smoking for many years, you can significantly reduce your chances of developing lung cancer.
The American Cancer Society’s (ACS) estimates for lung cancer in the United States for 2021 were:
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- About 235,760 new cases of lung cancer (119,100 in men and 116,660 in women)
- About 131,880 deaths from lung cancer (69,410 in men and 62,470 in women)
- Black men are about 15% more likely to develop lung cancer than white men. The rate is about 14% lower in Black women than in white women.
- Black and white women have lower rates than men, but the gap is closing. The lung cancer rate has been dropping among men over the past few decades, but only for about the last decade in women.
- Despite their overall risk of lung cancer being higher, Black men are less likely to develop SCLC than are white men.
Lung cancer mainly occurs in older people, but like in Nat’s case, it can
