Navigating Cancer, Chief Clinical & Strategy Officer, Dr. Amila Patel, PharmD, BCOP, recently presented data on key findings from a recent abstract with Duke Health revealing racial disparities among head and neck cancer populations at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology conference.
Our research, along with our partners at Duke Health, found there were significant health care delays for people of color when they tried to obtain immunotherapy treatment. Delays related to timeliness in obtaining treatment can be complex and multifactorial and cause differential access to treatment.
Dr. Patel mentions that here at Navigating Cancer, “We’re trying to address this by screening patients for the other aspects of their life that might impact their ability to receive immunotherapy, such as financial toxicity, mental health screenings, transportation issues.” Addressing these challenges can drastically improve a patient’s oncologic outcomes.