In The News
Hair straighteners and uterine cancer
Several women diagnosed with uterine cancer are now suing L'Oreal and other cosmetic companies after a recent study tied the illness to chemical hair straightening products. Dr. Kemi Doll joined Amna Nawaz to discuss the study and the concerns it has raised.
Confronting racial bias in
health care
Unchecked stereotypes can influence medical treatment, leading to dangerous consequences for Black patients. Crosscut dives into some of the stereotypes that lead, among other things, to poorer reproductive health outcomes among Black women.
Doctors warn women, especially Black women, about signs of uterine cancer.
“It’s actually the most common gynecological cancer in the United States. It’s more common than cervical cancer, yet everybody knows about their pap,” said Dr. Kemi Doll, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UW Medicine.
Common cancer screening methods are less accurate for Black women. This UW doctor has made it her mission to change that.
Dr. Kemi Doll is a gynecologic oncologist with UW's School of Medicine, and the lead researcher on the study. She told KUOW’s Paige Browning about her findings.
Studies show endometrial cancer is more aggressive for Black women
Dr. Kemi Doll is committed to eliminating the racial mortality gap in endometrial cancer through her own research.
Kuni Foundation Awards $13.2 Million to Oregon and Washington Nonprofits
Research focused on early detection of endometrial cancer among Black women received $1.2 million in funding. Black women’s mortality resulting from endometrial cancer has worsened over the past 20 years, and they are more likely to have advanced stage cancer when diagnosed.
Calling Out Healthcare Inequities
Dr. Kemi Doll, a UW Medicine Gynecologic Oncologist, has long studied endometrial cancer. She wants to better understand why African American women with that cancer have a 90 percent higher mortality rate than all other groups of women in the United States. “Healthcare for black women isn’t really the same as it is for everyone else,” she asserts. This topic came to the forefront recently when a CDC study showed that college-educated black women are five times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than their white counterparts.
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New data on cancer disparities in Washington
Gynecologic oncologist Dr. Kemi Doll of UW Medicine and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance formed a group for African-American women with endometrial cancer to build community and trust.
Articles
Black Lives Matter in Medicine
DID YOU KNOW that black women are 40 percent more likely to die from breast cancer than white women and twice as likely to die from uterine cancer? The underlying reason, according to UW oncologist Kemi Doll: Throughout their lives, women of color are treated differently by the health care system than other patients. Many report that their symptoms and concerns aren’t taken seriously. Nationwide analyses of medical outcomes suggest implicit racial bias taints women of color’s treatment so significantly that they sometimes don’t receive needed tests, correct diagnoses, or life-saving treatments.
“The ramifications of not listening to women,” Doll asserts, “can literally lead to death. When the most marginalized group speaks up, everybody’s quality of life improves.”
Same Burden Different Outcomes
Black women have a similar disease burden of endometrial cancer compared to White women, but markedly greater mortality rates. Max is joined by Kemi Doll, MD, MCSR, a gynecologic oncologist and health services researcher at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Why Are More Black Women Dying From the Most Common Reproductive Cancer?
A recent study conducted by Doll’s team found that black women with health insurance or access to medical care were less likely than white women to receive biopsies that could confirm their cancer earlier.
Why Are Uterine Cancer Rates Rising So Drastically in Black Women?
“I believe that it is possible that practitioners do not respond to abnormal bleeding in black women with the same alarm as other women—just like we see how pain or signs of distress are not seen with the same alarm when they occur in black women in other clinical settings,” Dr. Doll says. “I feel that research too often focuses on genetic causes to the exclusion of modifiable factors, such as early detection.”
Assessing the Prediagnostic Experiences of Black Women With Endometrial Cancer
“Unclear definitions of menopause and expectations about this transition may leave black women vulnerable to thinking experiences like bleeding, pain, bloating, or fatigue are normal,” Dr. Doll says. “The nature of these symptoms and how they are interpreted are important factors in the perception of risk. As a result, many women were silent about their symptoms.”
We Need to Change the Conversation About Endometrial Cancer
“The problem is the normalization of irregular menstrual health of black women. They keep moving as long as their Pap is fine and their STD (sexually transmitted disease) screening is clear. This has to change.”
“The genetic information that you’re getting comes from a person who had an experience. And if you don’t look at that experience you simply won’t ever know how it may be influencing what you’re seeing on the genetic level.”
— Kemi Doll