Provider bias is a measurable cause of racial disparities in cancer care and outcomes. Doctors may not have any explicit biases against minorities, but their unconscious, implicit assumptions can affect how they communicate with patients, interpret their symptoms, and even what treatments they give.
“I remember there was this one time, this assumption like, 'Oh, are you sure you're not pregnant?'” recalls ovarian cancer survivor Marecya Burton. Despite assuring doctors that she wasn't pregnant, doctors still persisted in that diagnosis, based in part, Burton believes, on assumptions they were making about her as an African American woman.
Read More RELATED: Diversifying Clinical Trials and Increasing Screenings Through Education and Policy; Key Takeaways from SurvivorNet’s ‘Close the Gap’ Conference Evelyn Reyes-Beato, a Dominican colon cancer survivor, says that the problem exists for Dominicans too, but in her experience, Dominicans might not always "communicate what they're feeling,” meaning the doctor might have to fall back on assumptions rather than getting to know the patient as an individual. Physicians should check their own biases wherever possible, but not all doctors are open to this level of introspection. "People don't want to be accused of being racist, they don’t want to be accused of saying the wrong thing, you have to be willing to admit that there are racist tendencies inside you," says Dr. Dana Chase at Arizona Oncology, talking about pushback she's experienced from fellow doctors when she talks about provider bias.
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