DETROIT, Mich. (WXYZ) — Discrimination experienced by Black people can affect their ability to thrive after surviving cancer. That’s the latest out of a long-running study that has followed over 5,000 Black cancer survivors from Detroit.
For Jim Scott, life has been kind of like a game of chess. For the last 8 years, he has been up against a tough opponent in life.
“First came the bladder cancer, then the prostate cancer diagnosis,” said Jim Scott.
But for the entirety of his life, he’s also been fighting what’s been called the social cancer of our time: racism.
“It's something you don’t always want to think about,” said Scott.
Scott vividly remembers an incident while taking a run, when he and his young family were harassed by a group of teens.
“They’re yelling out the window at me, the N-word,” said Scott.
Many years later, while putting in an offer on a home, another issue.
“The realtor was open enough to tell us that the people had expressed, some of the neighbors, that they didn’t want us in the neighborhood. Point blank,” explained Scott.
Today, Scott is living cancer free. But turns out living the Black experience in America, for cancer survivors, it comes at an impactful cost.
“Racism and experiences of discrimination affect health in a range of ways,” said Hayley Thompson, Wayne State University Oncology Professor.
In fact, it acts as a chronic stressor, resulting in increases in the body’s blood pressure & inflammation- this, according to a landmark study, the largest to date, proving discrimination feeds a survivor’s frailty.
WXYZ’s Ameera David asked, “How would you describe frailty?”
“Declines in different kinds of functioning over time,” said Thompson.
Medical researcher and professor Hayley Thompson tells me, for some, it manifests into physical challenges. For others? It’s cognitive.
“Memory can go- the way we process information can shift over time,” said Thompson.
But new insights on recovery come under the weight of the other reality that discrimination deeply impacts how cancer care is approached in the first place.
“When you go to a doctor or medical situation and you’re not sure if you’re being treated the same because of these prejudices that you may have experienced in the past, they are going to work on you mentally,” said Scott. “And dealing with healthcare, one of the most important things is your frame of mind.
“You certainly believe in that mind-body connection?” asked David.
“I really do,” said Scott.
Jim believes his open mind to trying clinical trials ultimately helped him. But due to historical racism within that area of study, African Americans are still largely under-represented.
“The mistrust is real, the lack of understanding,” said Scott.
Jim is a survivor of discrimination, cancer, and even a war, but at 76 years old, he says his fight is far from over, now volunteering all of his time to educate others.
“What drives you?” asked David.
“I don’t believe God gave me another chance at life, to do what I wanted to do. I really feel like he gave me a test so I would have testimony to help someone else.
On May 20th, the Black Men's Cancer Action Council is hosting a special community conversation about medical mistrust and how to make cancer care more trustworthy.
