Critical Writing Seminar: The Reinvention Of Race
John Gerber
Critical Writing Seminar: The Reinvention of Race
Introduction
Racial health disparities have existed for centuries and continue to exist in the United States. Specifically, types of cancer and cancer survival rates differ between African Americans and Caucasians. There is no consensus for the cause of these disparities, however. Most scientists argue they are driven by either genetics, environment, or both.
Recently, the scientific community has started to accept that race is a political category rather than a biological category. This acceptance has not come easily, but the reality is human beings do not fit the zoological definition of race, a population of organisms that can be distinguished from other populations of the same species based on differences in inherited traits. Instead, race serves as …show more content…
The study of these environmental factors is relatively recent, however, the results from the research done has changed the way scientists are viewing race and cancer. At first, many researchers believed racial health disparities were all genetics. They conducted a study that observed the types of breast cancer in African women. After confirming that fewer than 10% of the women in a group of patients had the BRCA mutation (previously discussed), they found that 75% of the women were ER-negative, a form of cancer associated with the BRCA mutation. The results illustrated that genetics were not the sole factor in ER-negative tumors in African women and that social factors were at play (Huo 2009). Recent research has shown the effects of environmental stress on breast cancer. When rats are socially isolated early in life, increasing stress and vigilance and prompting immune system changes, they develop breast tumors 40% earlier and four times more often than do rats housed in groups. The isolated rats also displayed larger, more aggressive
Critical Writing Seminar: The Reinvention of Race
Introduction
Racial health disparities have existed for centuries and continue to exist in the United States. Specifically, types of cancer and cancer survival rates differ between African Americans and Caucasians. There is no consensus for the cause of these disparities, however. Most scientists argue they are driven by either genetics, environment, or both.
Recently, the scientific community has started to accept that race is a political category rather than a biological category. This acceptance has not come easily, but the reality is human beings do not fit the zoological definition of race, a population of organisms that can be distinguished from other populations of the same species based on differences in inherited traits. Instead, race serves as …show more content…
The study of these environmental factors is relatively recent, however, the results from the research done has changed the way scientists are viewing race and cancer. At first, many researchers believed racial health disparities were all genetics. They conducted a study that observed the types of breast cancer in African women. After confirming that fewer than 10% of the women in a group of patients had the BRCA mutation (previously discussed), they found that 75% of the women were ER-negative, a form of cancer associated with the BRCA mutation. The results illustrated that genetics were not the sole factor in ER-negative tumors in African women and that social factors were at play (Huo 2009). Recent research has shown the effects of environmental stress on breast cancer. When rats are socially isolated early in life, increasing stress and vigilance and prompting immune system changes, they develop breast tumors 40% earlier and four times more often than do rats housed in groups. The isolated rats also displayed larger, more aggressive