Startseite
Podcasts
It's Been a Minute Podcast
The cancer quietly killing young people

The cancer quietly killing young people

It's Been a Minute vor 11 Monaten

0:00

19:39

If more and more young people are dying of colorectal cancer, why
aren't we talking about it? Is it because we're too ashamed of our
bodies?

Rates of colorectal cancer are rising, especially for people under
50. But it's hard to raise awareness for a cancer that a lot of us
find hard to talk about. In a recent essay for The Cut, writer
Laurie Abraham described her experience of colon cancer, which
included a lot of embarrassment. Talking about your bowel movements
is...not fun. Can you relate?

Today, Brittany is joined by Laurie and Dr. Kimmie Ng, Co-Director
of the Colon and Rectal Cancer Center at the Dana-Farber Cancer
Institute, to get into the cultural shame around how we talk about
colon cancer - and how that extends to a lack of funding and
research.

(0:00) Why colorectal cancer rates are rising in young people
(3:18) The environmental causes that lead to colon cancer
(7:08) How cultural shame about our bodies stops diagnoses
(10:30) What can listeners do to raise awareness?
(15:58) Racial disparities and ageism against young people
(20:48) Some exciting news!

Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluse

For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to
NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.

Learn more about sponsor message choices:
podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy