(Taylor Media Services) All Americans appear to be making strides in their battle against cancer but African Americans are not doing quite as well as Whites. According to a report published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, for the first time since 1971, the rate at which Americans are diagnosed with cancer has declined. It was in 1971 that the nation first declared war against cancer. According to the study, new cancer cases fell by an average of 0.8 percent a year for the period 2000 to 2005.
The decline was largely attributed to decreased smoking, improved screening techniques and better treatments. Meanwhile, actual cancer death rates have been declining since 1991. But this report marks the first time the rate of people being diagnosed with cancer also went down. The only group which did not witness a decline in cancer death rates was American Indians. Further, Black males were 35 percent more likely to be diagnosed with cancer than White males and Black females were 18 percent more likely to be diagnosed than White females. Last year, according to the American Cancer Society, roughly 1.4 million Americans were diagnosed with cancer. The leading cancers are lung, colon, breast and prostate. All these cancers declined in incidence during the five year period ending in 2005.
Black Journalist’s Host Conference on Racial Health Disparities
(Taylor Media Services) The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) will present its Conference on Health Disparities Jan. 30 to 31, 2009 at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. The NABJ is the nation’s largest organization of non-White journalists with a membership of over 4,000. NABJ President Barbara Ciara issued a statement saying, "This is the first time NABJ is committing to programming that deals solely with the health of the Black community. It is our responsibility as journalists of color to bring stories of awareness, prevention and recovery to our newsrooms." The NABJ Media Institute offers professional development opportunities, technical training, historical documentation, educational programs, conferences, workshops, entrepreneurial guidance as well as web seminars that consist of quality content and it provides resources for students and journalists of color, relating to the industry.
