What Steps Can Patients Take to Combat Cervical Cancer Disparities?
Cervical cancer disparities persist, but how can patients help improve disparities? Expert Dr. Shannon MacLaughlan from University of Illinois discusses the value of patient advocacy, elevating patient voices, and proactive patient advice for self-care.
[ACT]IVATION TIP
“…focus on yourself. I take care of women almost exclusively, and they’re the mamas and the sisters and the daughters, and they’re the caregivers, and they are focusing on everyone else. And now it’s time to focus on yourself and get yourself through this and then circle back, and we’ll start taking care of everybody else together.”
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Transcript:
Lisa Hatfield:
Dr. MacLaughlan, what are the next steps in addressing the disparities you’ve identified in cervical cancer diagnosis and management, and how can patients be involved in this process?
Shannon MacLaughlan:
The most important thing that a patient can do is take care of themselves and get through your treatment successfully. You are a survivor of that cancer the moment you hear the word cancer. The moment you get that diagnosis, you are a survivor, and you focus on that. Try not to isolate yourself, because this is a team, it’s a team sport. Your medical team should have a team, and you should have a team.
Then, when you are feeling healthy, and when you are energized, I need you to spread the word. The most impactful way a patient can contribute to breaking down barriers is to start from the inside, to share your story, to talk about it. Advocacy can be as simple as going home and talking to your family about the kind of cancer that you have, how it started, what they can do to prevent it, what they can do to prevent it in their kids. Just start there, and then when we get you healthy again, then it’s time to elevate your voice.
I feel strongly that when we see disparities in outcomes related to cancer, it is the fault of the system, and it’s a little too easy and maybe not realistic to tell a patient to advocate for yourself with your doctor, because you might not have a choice in your doctors, and that’s just easier said than done. The system has to take ownership. We have to take ownership, and we have to learn from you.
And so those of us trying to break down these inequities and introduce some justice, particularly in the world of cervical cancer, we aim to elevate the voices of the people with the lived experiences and the communities who are experiencing it, because most often patients come to my office and they say, even though this was a thing, I didn’t even know we had our own ribbon. I hand out ribbons to patients with cervical cancer because they’re survivors. I need them to talk about it.
I need them to talk about it in their communities so that they know it’s a thing, and they hold us accountable. So my action item is, one, focus on yourself. I take care of women almost exclusively, and they’re the mamas and the sisters and the daughters, and they’re the caregivers, and they are focusing on everyone else. And now it’s time to focus on yourself and get yourself through this and then circle back, and we’ll start taking care of everybody else together.
