In March 2020, Sheena P. was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, which came as a huge shock to her and her family. She decided to participate in a clinical trial based on a recommendation from her oncologist. When they performed a PET scan, they identified the area where her stage 4 lung cancer was located. Sheena notes that there is limited data on how Black Americans respond to cancer treatments because not enough participate in clinical trials. Her oncologist made her aware of some research studies underway and asked if she would be interested in participating, to which she agreed.
Sheena wants to encourage other Black Americans, especially women, to be more engaged with their healthcare. She understands there are trust issues but believes taking care of one’s health is critical, linking it to the biblical concept that your body is your temple. She recommends African Americans find the right healthcare providers who can properly treat them.
Sheena makes an important point that everyone is dealt a certain hand health-wise when they are born. Sometimes it’s a bad hand, like being diagnosed with stage 4 lung disease. However, it’s up to the individual to make the most of the situation and determine how they will handle the diagnosis. In Sheena’s case, she took action by enrolling in a clinical trial to contribute to medical research on improving outcomes for African Americans with cancer. Her story demonstrates strength and wisdom in a compromising situation.
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Sheena shares her practical solutions for the Black community, including being informed and proactive, communicating openly with doctors to understand all options, not dismissing opportunities for clinical trials, and rejecting fear or hopelessness over serious illness. By sharing her inspiring story, Sheena encourages others who are facing health challenges to keep fighting through faith, willpower, and trusting science and one’s health care team. Representation in research studies could improve overall survival rates for the Black American community and give hope to future patients with a stage 4 diagnosis.
Read on for Sheena’s full story.
It all started in March of 2020. You can imagine the shock of my family when we all learned that I had this stage 4 lung disease. My decision to participate in a clinical trial came as a result of my conversation with, the oncologist. When they did the PET scan and identified the targeted area where my stage 4 lung disease is located. Part of the challenge is in the African American community.
We don’t have a lot of data because many African Americans don’t participate in clinical trials. So at that time, we had a conversation and they had some research studies underway and he asked if I would be interested in participating in it, and I said yes.
One of the things that I would love to share with the African American community, me being an African American woman, is how we respond, if you will, to health care. I know a lot of it has to do with trust, and believe me, I get that, but when you think about your health care, you know, you read that in scripture, “your body is your temple.” It really is just that. So taking care of it and making sure that we find the right providers that can help us is very critical.
One thing we have to remember is we are all dealt in a deck of cards, so to speak. The moment we come into this earth, we have cards and within our deck, sometimes we’re just dealt a bad hand and we just have to decide how we’re going to play the hand we’ve been dealt.
For more information on clinical trials, check out our Clinical Trials Resource Center.
