Lori J. Pierce, MD, FASTRO, FASCO
Months ago, when I defined a theme for my year as ASCO President, “Equity: Every Patient. Every Day. Everywhere,” I never imagined we would experience a health-care pandemic that would disproportionally impact people of color. Nor could I know this would be the moment when yet another brutal crime against an African American would so capture the nation’s attention and bring long-simmering pain to the surface.
This has been a difficult week, on top of a difficult past few months. But even after the protests conclude and the pandemic is contained, we will still be left with deep-seated issues of racial, social, and economic inequity in America and other parts of the world.
We know racism undermines public health, and we know it deeply affects patients with cancer. Racial and ethnic minorities face poorer outcomes, are less frequently enrolled in clinical trials, and are less likely to be offered palliative care, genetic testing, and other critical care. Specifically, African Americans have the highest death rate and shortest length of survival of any racial ethnic group for most cancers.
We must commit the same energy and focus we pour into conquering cancer to addressing systemic issues that affect the health of people of color in our country.— Lori J. Pierce, MD, FASTRO, FASCO
Tweet this quote
We cannot tolerate these inequities any longer. We must commit the same energy and focus we pour into conquering cancer to addressing systemic issues that affect the health of people of color in our country.
Since its founding in 1964, ASCO has been dedicated to equal access to the highest quality cancer care for everyone, no matter who they are, where they live, or the color of their skin. But this moment calls on us to do more, and we must work together to enact meaningful change.
The oncology community must confront and address complex forces and systems that have created disparities in cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and research. At ASCO, we are embedding a health-equity lens into all of our programs. More than ever, we are committed to using our collective voices to advocate for policies that improve access to insurance coverage and affordable care for all patients.
We are also committed to building on our work that aims to cultivate a diverse oncology workforce and support people of color as they advance in their careers. Later this summer, ASCO’s Health Equity Committee will issue concrete recommendations to achieve health equity in the near and long term. To be clear, this is just a start, and there is a lot of hard work ahead of us. We know that meaningful change requires confronting our own prejudices and biases—and we must begin the difficult work of addressing them for the benefit of our colleagues, our patients, and our communities.
A Moment in History
I am so proud of the hope and promise that ASCO represents and am committed to leading our Society forward at this particular moment in our history. We are stronger when we work together, united in purpose to conquer cancer—for every patient, every day, everywhere. As always, ASCO is here to support you as you go about your important work caring for patients with cancer. In the days and weeks ahead, we welcome your ideas and participation in advancing this dialogue throughout ASCO and promoting long overdue equity in all aspects of cancer care and research.
Reprinted from ASCO Connection Blog, June 3, 2020. © 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncology. All rights reserved.
Dr. Pierce is the 2020–2021 ASCO President. She is Vice Provost for Academic and Faculty Affairs at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She is also Director of the Michigan Radiation Oncology Quality Consortium. Follow Dr. Pierce on Twitter @ASCOPres.
