Educational resources and perceptions of cancer by high school ethnic minority males in an urban setting

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Black and Latino males experience a higher incidence of certain cancers, such as prostate and colon cancer, tend to be diagnosed with cancer at later stages, die at earlier ages from cancer, and receive substandard care in the treatment of cancer. The purpose of this research was to examine the attitudes and beliefs of adolescent Black and Latino males regarding cancer. Participants in this study were 204 males between the ages of 14 to 18. The participants identified as Black (84.8%), Latino (9.8%), & White (1.5%). They were from Essex County in the state of New Jersey. Subjects participated in a presentation that provided basic information on prostate, testicular, and colon cancer followed by a discussion and completion of a questionnaire. Results indicated that 31.4% (n = 64) had at least one person in his family diagnosed with cancer; of this group, 60% indicated that there was no family discussion, and only 11% said there was a personal discussion with the person diagnosed with cancer. One hundred twenty six (61.8%) indicated that they felt comfortable talking with someone in the family about cancer, 23% said they were not sure, and 12.7% said no. Only 35.8% believed that they knew enough factual information about cancer and only 13.7% believed their peers knew enough about cancer. Participants (75%) overwhelmingly believed that their age group should know more information about cancer. They also believed that their families and communities (73.5%) both need to know more about cancer. Many of the respondents believed there was not enough community education about cancer (54.9%) and there was not enough education in their schools about cancer (46.6%). After the presentation, 52.9% of the respondents indicated that their knowledge of cancer “somewhat increased,” followed by 23.5% who believed their knowledge “definitely increased,” and 9.3% said their knowledge “significantly increased.” These results indicate that young Black and Latino males believe that more needs to be done in educating them, their families, and communities about cancer. It also appears that those families affected by cancer tend not to openly discuss the matter and the young men in this study were unlikely to have any personal discussion about the disease with the member affected by cancer. The family member diagnosed with cancer may be the greatest teaching force in getting other family members to learn more about the disease and take steps to reduce the risks of developing cancer as well. Educators and health professionals need to do morein targeting Black and Latino teenage males who are at greater risk for developing certain cancers in order to reduce cancer disparities. Most males in this demographic will receive little or no additional formal education once they graduate high school. So if they are not reached during high school about the risks for cancer and the preventative measures that they can take, there is a greater likelihood that they will not receive any education about cancer until personally diagnosed. Developing and implementing educational programs about cancer and prevention that targets ethnic minority teenage males and teaching families how to communicate about the disease will be effective ways to help reduce the incidence of cancer in these communities.