National Black Family Cancer Awareness Week

National Black Family Cancer Awareness Week will be held June 15, 2023, through June 21, 2023.¹ The purpose of this week-long social media campaign is to encourage Black Americans to engage in family conversations to improve awareness of their family health history and to support each other in undergoing cancer screenings and other preventive behavior.² The following provides more details about this initiative and what you can do to help spread the word.

• The FDA’s Oncology Center of Excellence initiated National Black Family Cancer Awareness Week in accordance with the January 20, 2021, Presidential Executive Order, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, Section 8, and in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the National Cancer Act.¹
• Raising awareness about cancer in Black communities remains critical because Black Americans have the highest mortality rate for all cancers combined and for most major cancers.^3,4 For example, Black women are more likely to die from breast cancer than White women across the United States, even though Black women have lower breast cancer incidence rates.³
• National Black Family Cancer Awareness Week has a designated social media hashtag, #BlackFamCan. The Oncology Center of Excellence is asking individuals and groups to participate in this year’s initiative by posting and tagging photos of community-based activities, meetings, and events that encourage the exchange of family health history information, cancer awareness materials, and culture.¹
• A free social media toolkit is available for individuals to download and share to continue the dialogue and motivate members of their community. The toolkit contains National Black Family Cancer Awareness Week graphics, YouTube videos, and a customizable selfie frame. Go to www.fda.gov/about-fda/project-community/national-black-family-cancer-awareness for more information.¹

References

1. US Food & Drug Administration. National Black Family Cancer Awareness. Updated May 10, 2023. www.fda.gov/about-fda/project-community/national-black-family-cancer-awareness. Accessed May 16, 2023.
2. Glanton Loftus E. Starting the conversation: panel discusses National Black Family Cancer Awareness Week. June 17, 2022. www.aacr.org/blog/2022/06/17/starting-the-conversation-panel-discusses-national-black-family-cancer-awareness-week/. Accessed May 22, 2023.
3. American Cancer Society. Cancer facts & figures for African American/Black people 2022-2024. www.cancer.org/content/dam/cancer-org/research/cancer-facts-and-statistics/cancer-facts-and-figures-for-african-americans/2022-2024-cff-aa.pdf. Accessed May 22, 2023.
4. US Department of Health & Human Services Office of Minority Health. Cancer and African Americans. Updated February 17, 2023. https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=4&lvlid=16. Accessed May 22, 2023.