A multi-faceted intervention cut the time from diagnosis of lung cancer to surgery by about two weeks for Black patients. Historically, Black patients are less likely than Whites to be treated with surgery for lung cancer and if they do have surgery, they wait an average of a week longer, which reduces their odds of survival.
Marjory Charlot, MD, of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (above) and her colleagues analyzed the results of an earlier study of a program that included an assignment to a nurse navigator to guide patients throughout their treatment.
The time between diagnosis and surgery was a median of 28 days for Black patients, compared with 43 days in the past. However, White patients participating in the intervention program still underwent surgery faster, in a median of 21 days.
- See “Intervention reduces disparities in timing of lung cancer surgery between Black and white patients” on the UNC Lineberge Comprehensive Cancer Center website (February 14, 2022)
- See the abstract of the scientific paper “Effect of an Antiracism Intervention on Racial Disparities in Time to Lung Cancer Surgery” by Marjory Charlot et al.
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