In the trenches on the medicine wards and smoking cessation clinics at Parkland Hospital and UT Southwestern Simmons Cancer Center, I see firsthand the increased prevalence of smoking in the Black population, their frequent use of menthol, and the ravaging toll it takes on their health.
When Helene Brown, a cancer control pioneer who jokingly described herself as “the first in a long line of political oncologists,” delivered the keynote address at the Oncology Nursing Society annual meeting in 1990, she set forth bold predictions for the ensuing 20 years of the field: appointments conducted over “computerphone,” major genetic breakthroughs, and universal healthcare.
