Health Disparities and Cancer

What is a Health Disparity?

A health disparity is a health gap. Health gaps exist in the quality of health care across racial and ethnic groups and may be impacted by socio-economic status, geography, age, disability and sex.

Cancer is the leading cause of death among Asians and Pacific Islanders, and it is the second leading cause of death among every other racial and ethnic minority group in the United States.

African-Americans are more likely to develop cancer than any other racial and ethnic group (true for all cancers combined and for most major cancers). African-Americans account for a majority of newly diagnosed cases and deaths of colon cancer and rectal cancer.

Hispanics and Latinos are more frequently diagnosed with uterine and cervical cancers than any other group; however, African-Americans have the highest death rate from uterine cervical cancer.