Gerontides 1

Rhea Gerontides

US History

Dr. Hartfield

9 May 2022

Race and Gender Inequalities in Oncology

For the past hundred years, the relapsing problem of gender and race inequality

seen in the medical industry is and has been an obstacle for many minorities. Equality is

fought for and prioritized in this generation, but still women and people of color are

forced to overcome the hardships that stand in the way of their progress in the medical

field. These minorities not only lack the educational opportunities, but they also often do

not receive equivalent medical treatment. For example, cancer, the uncontrollable cell

division that eventually leads to conglomerations of cells or tumors, is one of the many

arenas of the medical world in which women and people of color are undervalued, both

as patients and as caregivers. In particular, women and people of color are

underrepresented in the oncology community. Throughout history, women and people of

all different races have struggled with attaining equal opportunities to work in the

medical industry as well as receiving medical care due to the stereotypes built off racial

injustice and sexism.

One of the most dramatic changes in the development of the American

Constitution proceeded throughout the 1900s and marked the start of the revision of the

constitutional text with steps toward equality for people of color. Previously, people of

color had been stripped of their natural laws and treated as though they were not

human. Although the development of the Constitution leaned towards the progression of
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civil rights, not all was fixed. African Americans not only were segregated in schools and

restaurants but also in hospitals. For example, “Segregated black hospitals included

facilities established by whites to serve blacks exclusively, and they operated

predominantly in the South” (Gamble and Gunby Jr. 2006). The color of someone’s skin

decided whether they were worth the use of extra medicine or if it was even worth it.

They were denied admission and accommodations universally and forced into

segregated wards, opened in locations such as unheated attics and damp basements.

African Americans not only were mistreated as patients but as workers. They lacked the

opportunities to work in hospitals solely due to their race. Along with people of color,

women experienced similar struggles. Kind, pretty, obedient, and frail, are some of the

many belittling words that women were expected to fit. These stereotypes upheld by

society affected women in their everyday lives, but also limited their abilities to

individualize themselves and find their passions. Historically, seeing women in the

medical field in a position of higher power was incredibly rare. All around the world,

African Americans and women have been segregated due to the misinformation that

they are not as qualified or fit to be in power. Equal opportunity and treatment is

something everyone hopes to have, however, many people are stripped of this common

privilege including people of color.

Notably, many doctors and researchers have worked to overcome obstacles due

to stereotypes and to create a path to equality in the medical industry. For example, the

first African-American woman to be appointed to the faculty of the Department of

Surgery at NYPH and Columbia, Dr. Kathie-Ann Joseph, dedicated her life to helping

contribute to fighting the inequalities found in breast cancer research and treatment
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units for African-American women and low-income women. For instance, "Dr. Joseph

has studied how race affects health and has worked to improve access to healthcare for

those in need. In particular, she is interested in serving the needs of African-American

women, who face greater breast cancer mortality than do white women" (Kathie-Ann

Joseph 2006). She revealed the troubling truth that states "Black women, for example,

have lower overall rates of breast cancer than white women do, but have worse

mortality rates at every stage of the disease" (Kathie-Ann Joseph 2006). She has not

only helped directly with these inequalities but she has educated others on these

matters and initiated a free cancer-screening program at NYPH/Columbia which

provides free mammograms for those who lack health insurance, and allows breast

cancer patients to receive free surgery, chemotherapy, and reconstructive surgery.

Single handedly, this African American doctor helped overturn the inequalities found in

oncology and influenced others to reciprocate her actions.

As well as those working in the field, the patients of color experienced

mistreatment and racial injustice solely due to stereotypes that were racial motivated.

Studies have shown that, “black patients were treated and hospitalized for the illnesses

at later stages than white patients. Furthermore, once hospitalized, they received fewer

pain medications and had higher mortality rates" (Ambrose 64). The African American

woman Henrietta Lacks, who was the source of the famous HeLa cells, is another

example of racial injustice in the medical field. Although Lacks’s cells were used for a

good cause, the scientists who used them left her family in the dark while her cells

revolutionized medicine. In many hospitals, people of color were not only

misrepresented but treated differently because of the color of their skin. This not only
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affected their mental health but their physical well-being. Studies have shown the

frightful, segregated treatment of African Americans in the medical fields which are

considered honorable professions.

Not only are people of color treated differently in the oncology field, but women

have struggled for centuries to find equality within STEM positions. Women are proven

to fall further victimized by the male-dominated medical establishments and have been

forced to fight for what most do not need to think or worry about. Due to the lack of

basic equality, women face limitations in this field. Nevertheless, these women have

many figures to look up to such as Susan Love who has changed the course of women

in medicine. She not only has helped patients fight off cancer but has fought for the

spread of education as shown when stated “Love founded the popular Web site

SusanLoveMD.com … designed to disseminate information about the disease and act

as a reference source and meeting point” (Susan Love 2014). Jenny Pickworth Glusker,

a crystallographic and cancer researcher, is another example of an incredible woman

who changed history. She provides a perspective of the historical work of women in

science, specifically, in cancer research and the obstacles that followed. Glusker’s story

highlights the role of women in science and unravels the truth about their dedication and

the inequality in these fields explained when stated "To obtain honors for her B.A.

degree, Jenny worked with infrared spectroscopy in the laboratory of Sir Harold

Thomson, who believed that women did not belong in the laboratory because they were

prone to create fires and floods" (Benjamin F Shearer and Barbra S. Shearer 132).

Lastly, "Mary-Claire King from the University of California at Berkeley mapped the

approximate location of a potential breast cancer gene in 1990. Believing there had to
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be some factor that increased a woman's breast cancer risk, she studied 1,600 women

with breast cancer and identified 326 high-risk families. She made headlines around the

world when she announced that a stretch of some one thousand genes on the long arm

of chromosome 17 contained a gene that predisposed women to breast cancer" (Rose

2004). Mary-Claire King's discovery of the approximate location of a potential breast

cancer gene allowed others to see the potential of women in the STEM field. King broke

through the stereotypes and acted as a role model to other young women. These

influential and strong women, who have had a great impact on medicine, displayed to

other women that they as a group should not be held back by gender-based stereotypes

and, instead, proceed to discover their paths in the sciences.

The ongoing problems of gender and race inequality, caused by misinformation

and stereotypes, have caused a lack of opportunities for those minorities to succeed in

the medical field. However, efforts to put an end to this inequality include the promotion

of female and African American equity and importance. Such change will not only help

these minorities' voices be heard but ultimately will strengthen the world's knowledge

and success as a whole. By ending the stereotypes and mistreatment of these people,

we are allowing our community to be enlightened by different perspectives, which may

ultimately lead to greater achievements. In all the history of oncology, women and

people of color have had great impact on medicine, despite the preliminary stereotypes

placed on them, through their undeniable persistence.

Gender and race inequality caused by the absence of equal opportunity, due to

enforced biases and stereotypes, is a subject matter that can not be terminated or

ended by a single person; rather it needs to be a global effort. As a community, this

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generation has the responsibility to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. The

opportunities that they lack are something that should not be unseen but rather

recognized. The promotion of female and African American equality within education,

specifically cancer studies, will not only bring attention to the injustice but give a voice to

these minorities. Together, we must recognize that our community can speak out about

the unfair and unjust stereotypes that people of color and women face. Speaking up will

unleash a roaring domino effect and will help those young women who think that they

do not have what it takes to be a surgeon, doctor, nurse, or researcher. By lifting those

around us, we are lifting up the future generations to come.

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Works Cited

"Advances in Understanding Cancer." Science and Its Times, edited by Neil Schlager

and Josh Lauer, vol. 7, Detroit, MI, Gale, 2001. Gale in Context: U.S. History,

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C&xid=d43d3e1e. Accessed 15 Feb. 2022.

Ambrose, Susan A., et al. No Universal Constants. Philadelphia, Temple UP, 1997.

"Cancer and Genetics." American Decades Primary Sources, edited by Cynthia Rose,

vol. 10, Gale, 2004, pp. 450-53. Gale in Context: U.S. History,

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Gamble, Vanessa Northington, and Norris White Gunby, Jr. "Hospitals in the United

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