The Arise Project
African American Resilience in Surviving Cancer
“Growing stronger, full of hope”
overview
African American cancer survivors have unique needs that influence their quality of life after cancer
The study, “ARISE: African American Resilience in Surviving Cancer,” is a five-year, $3.1 million project funded by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health that aims to identify targets of change and inform the development of interventions to improve quality of life experienced by African-American cancer survivors.
African Americans have the highest death rate and shortest survival of any racial/ethnic group in the United States for most cancers.
Differences in survival rates are often due to disparities in social and economic factors and systemic racism that result in unequal access to medical care, health insurance, and healthy food.
Disparities in cancer incidence and mortality is magnified for African Americans in Southeast Michigan. In the city of Detroit, the largest city in the state where 82.7% of residents are African American, 37.9% of residents live below poverty level and only 47% are functionally literate. The median household income is $27,838, and the majority of residents do not have adequate access to medical care.
Facts &
Statistics
African American women are 41% more likely to die from breast cancer than White women, despite lower incidence of the disease. (Source: CancerStatisticsCenter.Cancer.org)
African American men are more than twice as likely to die of prostate cancer then men in every other racial/ethnic group. (Source: CancerStatisticsCenter.Cancer.org)
Our Mission
While there has been much study of how cancer impacts the quality of life of White cancer survivors, there is comparatively little study of African American survivors and how factors unique to their community may influence quality of life outcomes. Our purpose is to explore the social determinants of quality of life of African-American cancer survivors.
With this research, the ARISE study hopes to develop effective interventions to improve the quality of survivorship and eliminate racial disparities in health outcomes for African American cancer patients.
The Spirit of Detroit
“…Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty.”– II Corinthians 3:17
Our Purpose
Understanding what affects outcomes is critical to determining solutions
The ARISE study (“African American Resilience in Surviving Cancer”) is designed to investigate the social, economic, and race-based factors that lead to disparities in quality of life outcomes between African American and white cancer survivors.
Through a partnership with community stakeholders in Detroit, MI, our team is are seeking to identify critical factors in survivors’ communities, in their interactions with others, and at the personal level that may lead to poorer outcomes for African American survivors.