Cancer is racist...

Blacks are more likely to develop cancer and die from the disease than any other group, according to a report released today. Black patients also live a shorter time after diagnosis than others.

Death rates have fallen in recent decades for all groups, and the gap between the races has fluctuated over the years. Yet the gap between blacks and whites is just as wide today as it was in 1981, report co-author Ahmedin Jemal says.

Cue up the old joke:

"EARTH KILLER ASTEROID TO HIT US TOMORROW...ALL LIFE WILL DIE...WE ARE ALL DOOMED...women and minorities hardest hit."

In a groundbreaking 2004 study, Bach showed that the doctors who treated blacks were less likely to be board-certified and often lacked crucial resources, such as access to diagnostic imaging tests and specialists.

Blacks also are more likely to live in poverty and have low educational levels, Jemal says.

Education makes a huge difference in survival for all races, the report shows. For both blacks and whites, cancer death rates among those with a high school education or less are about twice the rates of those who have gone to college. Yet blacks still have higher death rates than whites, even when they have the same level of education, the report shows.

Blacks are less likely to be screened for colorectal cancer and are more likely than whites to be overweight and sedentary, which can increase the risk of developing many kinds of cancers, the report shows.

Same ole schtick...even in Hopey McChangeland.