Morhaf Al Achkar is a musician who plays the oud and has two albums: “Taqaseem” and “Rain in Seattle.” Morhaf is a stage IV lung cancer survivor, medical doctor, and researcher. He’s the author of Roads to Meaning and Resilience with Cancer, based on interviews with 39 lung cancer patients. He is raising funds for, and leading, Project Equity.
“It deeply troubles me to survive with stage IV lung cancer in my fourth year, while others fail to get an early diagnosis, are denied treatments, and face discrimination because of their skin color.
In the fight against lung cancer, we can only claim victory if ALL of us equitably benefit from the research advances available today.
It is my privilege to bring together researchers, stakeholders, and the community for this crucial work, and I will get the job done.
I may not live to see the fruit of Project Equity, but when change is made, I will be in peace.”
– Morhaf Al Achkar, MD, PhD
Lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death, disproportionately affects Black Americans, with Black men having the highest incidence and mortality rates among men and Black women having the highest mortality rates and the second highest in the rate of incidence among women. These higher morbidity and mortality rates are despite less smoking among Blacks than Whites. Lung cancer is also more likely to be in advanced stages when diagnosed in Black people than in Whites.
Health care access surely plays a role in lung cancer racial disparity. Black Americans are less likely to receive surgical treatment in early stages, and they receive CT screening less often as well. Aside from access, this disparity likely comes from multiple factors—biological, behavioral, physical, environmental, sociocultural, and the health care system—all pertinent on societal, community, interpersonal, and individual levels. Yet we still lack a comprehensive understanding of these factors and their mechanisms of action.
The purpose of Project Equity is to bring together a multidisciplinary research team and community stakeholders to understand and develop strategies for addressing the underlying factors and mechanisms of lung cancer disparities among Black Americans.
Project Equity has two specific objectives:
– Implement exploratory research to understand the complex factors that contribute to this disparity for Black Americans
– Develop a community participatory-action research program with multidimensional strategies for rectifying the disparity