On Juneteenth, I took a moment to commemorate a day that has made so much possible for me. I unplugged. I celebrated with friends. I enjoyed the perfect summer weather by the lake in Chicago. I forgot to post.
Although we have been free from the burden of slavery for nearly 200 years, I am deeply grateful for the choices people continue to make that shape my journey. I am thankful for my employees who choose to work for a Black woman with a big vision. I appreciate my investors who chose to invest in me, despite less than 1% of venture capital going to people who look like me. I am grateful for my customers who choose to do business with me and uphold their diversity supplier goals. And I am especially thankful for the hundreds of thousands of patients who benefit from our technology, which would not be possible without the end of slavery.
Juneteenth is also a day for learning and reflection, and I want to share what drives me at CancerIQ .
Despite many advances in oncology, too many people of color continue to die from cancer. African American women are 40% more likely to die of breast cancer than white women, and we are often diagnosed with more aggressive, harder-to-treat diseases at younger ages. The breast cancer death rate for Black women under 50 is twice that of white women. Simply put, when we’re diagnosed with cancer, we don’t win.
It’s time for a different approach. Equitable cancer care begins when we recognize that every patient shouldn’t be treated the same because every patient’s risk isn’t the same. Full stop.
That’s why I’m proud to say, in the spirit of Juneteenth, that we’re doing something dramatically different at CancerIQ. We are bringing cancer risk assessment out of the clinic to meet patients where they are and to maximize the reach of the genetics workforce. We are producing culturally tailored patient education to promote positive health behaviors. We are sensitive to the fact that “who communicates matters,” working with community health workers, and providing navigation services to populations who really can’t afford to get cancer.
Stay tuned for more updates on the progress we're making to end cancer as we know it, for everyone.
