Preventing cancer for future generations of Black families

By Sonya Goins

The statistics are staggering. Black people are more likely to die from cancer than other racial and ethnic groups. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, African Americans have the highest death rate from cancer overall.

Dr. Kim Barbel Johnson, a Mayo Clinic family medicine physician with the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, says educating patients is essential to reducing and preventing cancer deaths among Black people. Watch this "Mayo Clinic Minute" video to hear Dr. Barbel Johnson explain why:

Black people are more likely to die from prostate, lung and breast cancer than other races. Dr. Barbel Johnson says there are many contributing factors, including genetics, habits and other mitigating circumstances.

"It has a lot to do with the structural racism that has created the environment, not only for access but for prioritizing and evolving treatments," says Dr. Barbel Johnson.

The family medicine physician says regular cancer screenings are key to increasing survival rates.

"It's important that we prioritize screenings for those conditions where we're seeing the incidence and the death rates are highest in these populations," says Dr. Barbel Johnson.

Knowing your family history, regular exercise and eating a healthy diet are also crucial to cutting cancer risks.

"In doing so, we will then decrease things like red meat, increase things like vegetables within our diet, decrease the amounts of sugar and artificial sweeteners that we have in our diet," she says.

She also recommends stopping tobacco use and getting adequate sleep.

Preventing cancer risks:

• Get vaccinated against HPV and hepatitis B.
• Schedule regular mammograms and colonoscopies.
• Avoid heavy alcohol consumption.
• Protect your skin from the sun.

Learn more

Read these articles to learn more about cancer health disparities that affect Black people:

• "As cancer deaths decline, access to care remains a challenge in some communities"
• "Disparities in preventive cancer screenings for African Americans"
• "Dangers of late cervical cancer diagnosis in women of color"
• "Why are menthol-flavored cigarettes a concern?"
• "Prostate cancer: screening and treatment"
• "Why Black women need to be screened for cervical cancer"
• "What Black women need to know about breast cancer"

A version of this article originally appeared on the Mayo Clinic News Network.