Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:25 — 38.7MB) | Embed
Host: Shawn Spruce
Native Americans are much more likely to get certain cancers than the rest of the population. And cultural and geographic separations are two major factors that could determine life or death when it comes to cancer treatment.
Congress just approved $8 million in federal money to expand a tribally run cancer treatment center on the Navajo Nation. It’s an acknowledgement of the higher prevalence of cancer there and the disparity in treatment on the reservation. Also, many Navajos prefer to keep the subject of cancer private, a concept that Indigenous care providers are more likely to understand.
Today on Native America Calling, we learn about tribally run cancer treatment and the importance of connecting on a cultural level.
GUESTS
Dr. Myra Parker, director of the Seven Directions Center for Indigenous Public Health at University of Washington in Seattle
Melissa Buffalo, CEO at the American Indian Cancer Foundation in Minneapolis
Lynette Bonar, CEO of Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation
Break 1 music: Chant (song) Robert Mirabal + Ethel (artist) The River (album)
Break 2 music: Sisters (song) The Halluci Nation (artist) Nation II Nation (album)
I know childhood cancer research is SEVERELY underfunded! This is why my wife and I started a nonprofit called “KillEagle Promotions” (promoting a better future) and we put cage fights on to help raise money and awareness for childhood cancer! We call our fights “Fight For Our Future”! This idea came about when my daughter, who was diagnosed with hepatoblastoma, a liver cancer, at 7 months old! She was 8 months old when she first started her chemo treatments that was designed for adult bodies, but that’s all they have! We won’t stop until people are aware of what these babies have to go through!