CSC’s New Peer Support Program Aims to Reduce Disparities in Cancer Clinical Trials

CSC is excited to have launched the Peer Support Program to directly combat the challenges and disparities that Black or African American cancer patients face.

Research shows that only 5% of the 1 in 20 adult cancer patients enrolled in clinical trials are Black and that Black patients are less likely to be told about or offered a clinical trial as a treatment option. Cancer clinical trials are extremely important because they evaluate cancer treatments for their safety, usefulness, and impact on patients’ quality of life.

This new program pairs patients with other Black or African American people who have already gone through a clinical trial to serve as knowledgeable and empathetic guides for the unfamiliar patients. The guides are able to answer to the fears, questions, and concerns of patients. Read this blog to learn more and meet peer specialist Brenda, who shares her story as a survivor, why she’s glad she participated in a clinical trial, and inspired to encourage her peers to consider enrolling in one as well.

“My hopes are that my peers will be learning and acquire an understandable approach that works for them, with my help, as they continue on their journey,” she says about her participation in the Peer Support Program: https://www.cancersupportcommunity.org/blog/peer-support-program-reduce-disparities-cancer-clinical-trials