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Stand Up To Cancer Day is the result of the efforts of a passionate and fierce group of women who were personally impacted by cancer. In 2008, these women decided that cancer awareness levels and research efforts were not where they needed to be. They combined media and entertainment resources to create a fundraising event for cancer research, and that event would launch a yearly day dedicated to cancer awareness.
The CDC reports that nearly 2 million annual cancer cases were reported in recent years. The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be 224,080 new cancer cases in Black patients in 2022. As is unjustly the case for many risks and ailments, cancer hits the Black community harder than others. There are several types of cancers seen in Black patients at alarmingly higher rates than in other groups. Within Stand Up To Cancer Day should be contained cancer awareness within the Black community. While there are systemic factors that cause these inequities, there are still things Black patients can do to prevent or reduce their chances of developing these common cancers.
