JaDonna Harris, a colorectal cancer survivor from Washington, D.C., shares her personal story to raise awareness about the rising risk of colorectal cancer—especially among Black Americans—and stresses the importance of early screening. Diagnosed shortly after turning 40, Harris highlights how symptoms can be overlooked and urges people not to delay testing, noting that new, more accessible screening options can help save lives.
Category: Health
Posted inHealth
Brain tumor survivor reclaims her life, reshapes art and advocacy beyond disability
After surviving a life-altering brain tumor, Zazel-Chavah O’Garra refused to let disability or societal prejudice define her future. Once a successful dancer and model, she rebuilt her life through resilience, community support and faith—eventually becoming a licensed social worker and founding an inclusive dance company for disabled performers. Alongside mentor Dr. Donna R. Walton, O’Garra highlights the challenges disabled women face, while demonstrating the power of perseverance, representation and self-determination.
Posted inWord In Black
‘Ghost’ Medicaid doctors leave patients in the waiting room
By Jennifer Porter GoreWord in Black Roughly 1 in 3 doctors who are enrolled to treat Medicaid patients didn’t treat a single one between 2019 and 2021, according to new research. At the opposite end of the spectrum, a third of enrolled health care providers saw more than 150 Medicaid patients each year, a workload […]
Posted inHealth
Menopause and the power of becoming: advocates, doctors push for more inclusive conversations
By Victoria MejicanosAFRO Staff Writervmejicanos@afro.com Menopause is clinically defined as “12 consecutive months without a menstrual period,” according to Dr. Ngozi Wexler, an OB-GYN and chief medical officer at MedStar Montgomery Medical Center. But advocates like Omisade Burney-Scott, founder of The Black Girls’ Guide to Surviving Menopause, say the transition carries a deeper significance. While […]
Posted inWord In Black
Demystifying the end: Hospice care impact on the Black community
Hospice care offers comfort, dignity and emotional support at the end of life, but it remains underused in Black communities due to misconceptions, limited access and historical distrust of the healthcare system. Advocates say education, community outreach and culturally sensitive care are key to helping families better understand hospice and use its services earlier.
Posted inOPINION
The silent crisis in our community — why amyloidosis awareness matters now
Each year in March amyloidosis is recognized with an awareness month. Jonathan L. Dotson serves as executive director of Friendship That Gives, a health advocacy organization. This week, he urges the Black community to learn more about the condition, which is caused by abnormal protein deposits that damage vital organs.
Posted inOpinion
Measuring progress: Johns Hopkins, Black Baltimore and this moment
By Steven K. Ragsdale We have to say it aloud. Five Black surgeons now lead the trauma service at Johns Hopkins Hospital: Dr. Zachary Obinna Enumah, M.D., Ph.D., M.A., ninth-year resident and critical care fellowDr. Lawrence B. Brown, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., a seventh-year residentDr. Ivy Mannoh, M.D., third-year residentDr. Ifeoluwa “Ife” Shoyombo, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., […]
Posted inHealth
An effort to remedy harm from a race-based kidney test helps Black patients seeking transplants
A nationwide effort to correct a race-based kidney function test has helped thousands of Black patients gain credit for lost time on transplant waiting lists, improving their chances of receiving a kidney. Researchers say the policy change has increased transplant rates for Black patients without negatively affecting patients of other races.
Posted inHealth
CIAA Health and Mental Wellness Summit highlights fibroids and endometriosis in Black women
While fans cheered on student-athletes at the CIAA Tournament, a quieter but urgent conversation unfolded off the court. Women’s health leaders and advocates gathered to spotlight fibroids and endometriosis, conditions that disproportionately affect Black women and are often underdiagnosed or dismissed.
Posted inINTERNATIONAL
Novartis settles with Henrietta Lacks’ estate over use of her ‘stolen’ cells to advance medicine
Novartis AG has reached an undisclosed settlement with the estate of Henrietta Lacks over claims it profited from her cells, taken without consent in 1951 and used in groundbreaking medical research. The case is one of several lawsuits filed by her family seeking compensation for the use of the HeLa cell line.
Posted inWord In Black
Anissa Durham, author of ‘On Borrowed Time’ series for Word in Black, wins NAACP Image Award
By Word in Black On the same night Michelle Obama and Kendrick Lamar were celebrated at the 2026 NAACP Image Awards, a reporter for Word In Black quietly made history of her own. On Feb. 23, Anissa Durham won the inaugural Outstanding Literary Work – Journalism award for “On Borrowed Time,” her nine-part investigation into […]
Posted inOPINION
Federal loan caps could shut a majority of Baltimore out of medicine – do local health systems care?
Historically, Black high schools like Frederick Douglass and Paul Laurence Dunbar shaped Baltimore’s workforce, but unequal pathways have long determined who entered medicine versus low-wage healthcare labor.