Today, the American Lung Association in Texas announced the new Awareness, Trust and Action campaign, which aims to educate Black Americans in Houston about clinical trials and encourage them to speak with their healthcare provider.
“When Black Americans enroll in clinical trials they can benefit from the latest science and treatments and researchers can learn about how lung cancer treatments work in different people,” said Charlotte J. Maffia, executive director at the Lung Association. “Unfortunately, Black Americans are underrepresented in clinical trials, so it is critical to educate more people about this important issue.”
A survey conducted of more than 500 people about clinical trials in Houston, Chicago, and Philadelphia revealed that many people have false perceptions of clinical trials. In the survey, 45% said that they don’t participate in clinical trials because of fear of negative side effects and 33% don’t participate because of fear of mistreatment.
Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer of both men and women in the United States, however, people of color suffer disproportionally from lung cancer. According to the Lung Association’s “State of Lung Cancer” report, Black Americans in Texas are least likely to receive surgical treatment for lung cancer.
Clinical trials are highly monitored research studies that can test many things like how to prevent a disease, new ways to detect or diagnose a disease, or new ways to treat a disease. Each participant in a clinical trial is treated with the highest level of care. Sometimes, the most appropriate treatment option for a lung cancer patient is through a clinical trial.
More information about the Awareness, Trust and Action campaign is available at Lung.org/Trials-and-You.
Support for this project is provided in part by AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb and Merck.