Running head: RACIAL AND MINORITY INEQUALITY IN CANCER TREATMENT

Racial and Minority Inequality in Cancer Treatment

Courtney Maureen Clayton
University of Texas at El Paso
Professor Rodriguez
English 1302- Research and Critical Thinking

Racial and Minority Inequality in Cancer Treatment

Racial and Minority Inequality in Cancer Treatment

Racial inequality as a whole has been a complication throughout the world for
generations. It affects numerous people, cultures, and religions. These people are not only
affected socially, but they are also affected economically. People of the white race are
statistically proven to have higher quality cancer treatment and have a greater chance of being
diagnosed earlier than those of the minority. This is a social problem that has been disregarded
for years and urgently needs to be addressed. Many individuals and organizations within the last
few years have addressed this issue of inequality in cancer treatment and health care. The issue
of cancer specifically has been introduced and analyzed by two genres that support that there are
racial discrepancy in health care and specifically cancer treatment. The scholarly article, Racial
Disparities in Cancer Therapy, explores if racial disparity in cancer treatment declined between
the years of 1992 and 2002. Overall, the study found that this inequality did not differ within
these ten years, and people of the white race were still more likely to have better diagnosis, care,
and survival rate over minorities, especially over African Americans. In the video, Ethnic
Minority Disparities in Cancer Treatment; is a two-hour video where the U.S. House of
Representatives and the House Committee on Government Reform meet to discuss the
accusations of inequality of cancer treatment in the United States. The focus of this video is
political awareness around the issues of inequality in cancer treatment and healthcare. Both of
these genres, and their views on this issue will be discussed further in this analysis, along with
the rhetorical strategies used will be compared and analyzed.

Racial and Minority Inequality in Cancer Treatment

Audience and Purpose

The first genre, the scholarly article, is an article that discusses whether racial disparities
in cancer therapy had diminished since the time they were initially documented in the early
1990s. The study was performed to see if the gap narrowed between the years of 1992 and 2002.
Unfortunately, according to the article, Racial Disparities in Cancer Therapy, racial disparity in
cancer treatment has not diminished. The purpose of this article is to prove that racial disparity in
cancer treatment has not diminished in the last ten years, and that it is crucial to make a change
in health care and in cancer treatment as a whole. The second genre, the YouTube video, Ethnic
Minority Disparities in Cancer Treatment, was created to attempt to solve the issue of racial
inequality in cancer treatment, and also in health care, through government efforts and
specifically through the House of Representatives. Both of these genres have the same purpose
of informing others that there are racial differences in cancer treatment in the U.S, however the
information is presented in an entirely different manner. The YouTube video format and delivery
is extremely professional. It is a two-hour long video of representatives, witnesses, and
organizations arguing the issue of this disparity within health care and cancer treatment. The
language and the meeting itself are highly organized and the mood of the meeting has a serious
tone, as portrayed to the audience. On the other hand, the scholarly article has professional
qualities, but also possesses a personal voice from the individuals who performed this study.
Four doctors performed the study, which is obvious based on the language these individuals use
and the information that these professionals present to audience. Although both of these sources
are portraying essentially the same information, it is being presented to the audience in a
completely different way.

Racial and Minority Inequality in Cancer Treatment

Next, the targeted audience for each genre is both addressed to the general public, but
each differs in a plethora of ways. For example, time is a major difference between the two
genres. The video, as mentioned above, is two-hours long and requires a time commitment and
attention from the audience to complete the video in its entirety. It possesses complex
understanding and requires a prior knowledge of the topic to fully comprehend. The scholarly
article study is intended for those who are trying to learn about this issue quickly and be exposed
to the topic in an introductory manner. Both genres are very important and achieve different
goals through the publication of the issue. It is important for these genres to reach out to different
groups to increase awareness of this issue in hopes of it being solved. It is an issue that will only
cause more problems the longer it is not addressed.
Ethos
To begin, a huge amount of creditability is established when the United States House of
Representatives is introduced in the beginning of the YouTube video. This not only establishes
creditability, but it also proves that the issue discussed is serious and important for the general
well being of the public. The United States government is one of the most respected
organizations in our nation, which therefore makes it one of the most creditable sources. The
issue of inequality in cancer treatment is a valid one if the House of Representatives are
involved. Next, the scholarly article also has high creditability because it was created, tested, and
published by four medical doctors. The creditability of someone with a degree of such vast
knowledge is very important in establishing creditability to the audience. Both of these genres
establish an immense amount of creditability that provides a very effective argument. If this
creditability was not established, the audience would not trust the facts and opinions of these

Racial and Minority Inequality in Cancer Treatment

individuals, but because they are professionals, the audience naturally will be more open to the
sources opinion on the issue.
Pathos
There are not many emotional strategies used within these genres because of the
professional nature of this work. The article has appeal to emotion with the personal language
that emerges within the article explaining how African Americans are mistreated when it comes
to health care and cancer treatment. This voice shows how disappointing this conflict is and how
absurd it should sound to the public. Next, the video possesses implicit emotional appeals when
personal stories are shared within the conference, but because it is a government meeting, there
is not much emotion, more fact and reason. There are witnesses and victims present who vouch
for their health care facilities and hospitals during this meeting, and it can be very emotional for
some individuals. But overall, these sources did not focus on the emotional side of the argument
but more of the fact and reason side to prove the argument through statistics.
Logos
There are a plethora of logic appeals present in these two genres. Logic is the most
successful and used rhetorical appeal, due to the professional nature of both of these pieces. To
begin, there are many statistical facts present in the scholarly article; it is mainly based on
statistical facts such as percentages and the number of people, of both races, who are diagnosed
and treated for cancer. Next, in the video, there are statistical facts similar to the article, but also
includes statements made by professionals and other individuals on the matter of inequality of
cancer treatment. Both genres are successful in being logical which aides in proving that
inequality in health care and cancer treatment is a reality, and logically this issue needs to be
addressed and resolved.

Racial and Minority Inequality in Cancer Treatment

Conclusion
In conclusion, both genres address the topic of disparity in cancer treatment very
adequately. Although both genres took a complicated political side of the argument, the article
was easier to understand and comprehend. Inequality in health care and in cancer treatment is a
very serious issue and it is up to society to change it.

Racial and Minority Inequality in Cancer Treatment

Citations
House Resource Org. (YouTube Video). (2011, Jan 4) Ethnic Minority Disparities in Cancer
Treatment; Video retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4PbQvn0qYo

Cary P. Gross MD1,,*, Benjamin D. Smith MD2, Elizabeth Wolf BA1 and Martin Andersen MPH1
(2008). Racial Disparities in Cancer Therapy / Cancer Volume 112, Issue 4, pages 900908, 15
February 2008