Cultural insensitivity.

On the last day of American Indian Heritage Month, let’s check how we’re doing in regards to ensuring oncology care access across diverse populations. Not so hot, we’re afraid. The sad truth is that cancer death rates among American Indians and Alaskan Natives continue to increase in the face of simultaneously decreasing rates among their white counterparts. In an effort to combat these stats, the National Cancer Institute established the Walking Forward program in western South Dakota way back in 2002. Subsequent data emerged to indicate high cancer mortality rates were likely due to later presentations, making radiation a heavy proportion of recommended therapies. To gauge the status of our national efforts of ensuring radiation access for these populations, a recent lit review was performed that quickly became a fishing expedition. This extensive search produced three publications spun out of the funded Walking Forward initiative...and zero others. This screams we have a long way to go in rectifying disparities among American Indians and Native Alaskans, even without the backdrop of a life-size Andrew Jackson portrait.