The way colon cancer comes and snatches our Black men from us too soon!

Let me not go into a health disparities lecture

Black men did at higher rates from colon cancer than their white peers. Sure that gap has narrowed. But here we are talking about a man who was 43 yrs old, who had the money and access to the best care possible and is now gone. Literally too soon

Black folx have the highest incidence rate of colon cancer.
And yet we aren’t getting screened.
No one is telling us to get screened

And by the time we do get screened, it’s too late. Folks looking at stage 2 or 3

Folx hear colon cancer screening and automatically think “colonoscopy “
But there are other ways to get tested/screened. That are less invasive

But guess what: we aren’t told about those!!!
We don’t live in communities where we even have access to preventive medicine.

Hell, are we even truly taught what the colon does?!
So how would we know to look for the signs of a possible problem?

It’s funny: folx don’t wanna teach us about the body and how it properly works but they don’t have a problem using our bodies for their work

ALSO, if we are dying at higher rates. Then why are we saying the time we should start getting screened is 45 yrs old?!?
This man is gone at 43!! Make that make sense

Stop waiting til we on our deathbeds to teach us the symptoms we should be looking for.

And another layer: insurance ain’t gonna cover a screening that’s done “too soon” unless u have a good reason
Like a severe issue. Which again is TOO LATE

And another thing, let’s talk about how knowing our family’s medical history is a PRIVILEGE!

Familial history of cancer plays a role, but if my family ain’t have health insurance... how can i know? Hell, how far we talking?

White supremacy is so exhausting. It has us focusing on not getting shot by police and having “the talk” with our young men that we can’t even prepare them for the other shit that can kill them.

White supremacy is so exhausting that it’s built whole communities without a grocery store where we can have access to the right types of foods with fiber and things of that nature.

White supremacy is so fucking exhausting because it literally has doctors thinking Black folx don’t feel pain.

White supremacy is so exhausting that it has kept Black folx in jobs that don’t provide insurance so we can get checked.

White supremacy is so exhausting it has created whole systems (read health insurance) shrouded in language that no one can truly understand

Moral of the story: if you can, get checked!
If you can’t, start googling and looking into colon health.
Watch what u eat. Not on no “don’t eat that” but just pay attention to how it makes u feel