Renal cancer diagnoses spike for Black Americans
Obstacles to accessing quality care persist, says UCI Health urologist
May 31, 2023
In 2021, more than 76,000 people were newly diagnosed with renal cancer, up from 58,000 in 2011, with Black Americans seeing the highest rate of increase.
During the last decade, detection and treatment of renal cancer has improved significantly, but mortality rates have remained higher among Black patients.
UCI Health urologist Dr. M. Leon Seard, II says the reason for this disparity are the obstacles Black people face in accessing quality care for renal cancer. The roadblocks are the same as those they face when dealing with the American healthcare system overall: paying for care, navigating bias and getting education about care, he told Everyday Health.
Seard is a clinical professor at UCI School of Medicine and director of Ambulatory Urologic Services at UCI Health. He is also a board-certified urologist at the UCI Health Center for Urological Care. He is dedicated to community outreach and patient health advocacy for those with urologic disease, particularly prostate cancer.
Read more:
