How Cancer Crossed the Color Line

This book explores the evolution of cancer from being perceived as a white woman's disease to a threat in communities of color. Keith Wailoo draws on patients' accounts, films, fiction, medical evidence, and epidemiological data to reveal how cancer awareness, prevention, treatment, and survival have all been impacted by race. From the mass black migration to urban areas to the civil rights movement and contemporary health activism, the author documents the central role that race and gender have played in the history of cancer awareness. This pioneering study sheds light on the ongoing battle against cancer, particularly along the color line.