TAMPA, Fla. — Moffitt Cancer center is conducting a study that specifically looks at breast cancer patients in the Black community who aren’t completing their treatments that are vital to saving their lives.
According to the National Cancer Institute with the NIH, Black men and women have the highest death rates when it comes to cancers.
Doctor’s at Moffitt Cancer Center have identified one of the contributors to the alarming statistic but there’s still a question as to why.
Dr. Kimberly Lee treats patients in Moffitt’s oncology department. She’s also conducting a study to try to determine the cause of the halted treatment.
“So the current study is trying to understand the experiences of Black women on endocrine therapy or hormone therapy. So these are pills women have to take to reduce the risk of breast cancer coming back,” said Dr. Lee.
That continued treatment is what medical professionals like Dr. Lee believe is vital for survival.
“The pills do have side effects and that’s a huge burden for women. The side effects can be difficult to manage and women will often stop the medications because of the side effects. So there is a disproportionate amount of black women who stop those medications and it’s not clear all of the reasons that contribute to that,” Dr. Lee said.
So why is it that mostly Black patients aren’t completing their treatment? Dr. Lee says there are some suspicions as to why.
“I would actually shy away from putting a lot of that blame on the patient. I think a lot of it has to do with healthcare delivery. What we do in the clinic here and how we talk to patients and council patients and kind of the trust and relationship that they have,” she said. “Trust is an issue between the black community and some medical establishments and it’s something that we need to fix and I think it’s important for folks to find providers and teams and places that they trust and feel comfortable with.”
She’s hoping this research study can reveal the of the factors involved so that they can save even more lives.