Raising awareness of the racial disparities in the impact of colorectal cancer on the Black community.

Colorectal cancer hits the Black community harder than any other racial group in America — the death rate is 40 percent higher among Black men and 25 percent higher among Black women compared to non-Hispanic whites, and Black Americans have the lowest five-year survival rate of any racial group. An estimated 19 percent of this racial disparity in deaths comes from lower screening rates alone, even though colorectal cancer has a 90 percent survival rate when caught early. This resolution calls on the CDC to expand research into what drives these screening gaps, encourages the NIH to study why younger adults are increasingly affected, and urges states to lower the recommended screening age with special consideration for Black Americans and others at higher risk.