04.06
I’m Linda Blount, mother of two and National Vice President of Health Disparities for the American Cancer Society. Health equity is my passion.
We live in a country that spends more on healthcare than any other country. Yet, despite the $2 trillion spent on healthcare last year, there are many thousands of Americans who have cancer and who could die because they face real barriers to getting and paying for health insurance, prevention and treatment services and, life-saving information. For these Americans, there is a health equity gap. My role at the American Cancer Society allows me to focus on identifying these barriers and on what needs to be done to remove them.
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05.24
The Office of Health Disparities of the American Cancer Society is pleased to present its third conference on health disparities, Health Equity: Through the Cancer Lens. This year we move beyond description to action. By combining research and practice and the academy and community, we will focus on what we know works from the perspective of advocacy, community intervention and communication. Our keynote speakers will discuss how we use research to effect change and we’ll hear from members of the community who have actually achieved change in cancer incidence, risk behavior and survivorship. Visit the conference web site at www.TheCancerLens.org.
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05.24
Women are truly the Ministers of Health, Chief Medical Officers, Directors of Family Wellness, and Health Attachès of the household. It falls to us to manage urgent care situations, ensure prevention and wellness check-ups take place and to continuously poll the family making sure everyone is doing ok. When it comes to our children it’s easy —we put them in the car or take the train and make our way to the appropriate healthcare provider. With our sisters and mothers, it’s still pretty easy, we encourage and cajole them into seeing a doctor or eating healthy and remind them of just how important they are. But when it comes to us-ourselves, that’s, as they say, a whole other story! We have plenty of reasons: I’m too busy, I feel fine, I’ll go if I need to, my family needs me. Sound familiar? Well, all of that is true
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11.09
My first interview with BlackPolitics.com founder Ed Phelps has been published. It is a concise yet informative look at cancer disparities facing African Americans. Visit www.BlackPolitics.com and check it out.
10.08
What if I told you that if you jumped off a cliff, three hundred feet high on to rocks below, you would have a 1 in 5 chance of dying and a 1 in 3 chance of getting hurt? Would you jump? The odds are in your favor. I’ll bet you wouldn’t (and this is from a woman who got kicked out of Vegas). I’ll bet you would say the odds aren’t good enough. Well, if you smoke more than 10-15 cigarettes per day for a few years, those are your odds.
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10.08
Women are truly the ministers of health, the Chief Medial Officers, the education heads, the health attachès of the household. It falls to us to manage urgent care situations, ensure prevention and wellness check ups takes place and to continuously poll the family making sure everyone is doing ok. When it comes to our children it’s easy —we put them in the car or take the train and make our way to the appropriate facility. With our sisters and mothers, its still pretty easy, we simply accompany them, maybe even join them for a checkup ourselves, make it an outing of sorts. But when it comes to our husbands, boyfriends and brothers, that’s, as they say, a whole other story!
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