Black Suspects Covered Disproportionately

Unity to Meet on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

"In a move signaling a major shift in the organization, UNITY: Journalists for Diversity announced Monday that the coalition will hold its first regional conference for an event planned on the homeland of the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota," the coalition of Asian American, Native American and lesbian and gay journalists announced Monday.

"The regional event titled 'Empower Your Lakota Story' on May 2 will bring journalists around the country to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation for a gathering centered on media literacy, multimedia training, entrepreneurial journalism and a special town hall.

"The conference comes weeks after 57 children from American Horse School were racially harassed at a Rapid City minor league hockey game. Calls by the community and the tribe have been made to get the story out beyond the usual stereotypical pieces. . . ."

Time to Tell Readers, Viewers to Get Tested

The Food and Drug Administration issued this media advisory Monday as part of National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month:

"Among cancers that affect both men and women, colorectal cancer is the second leading cancer killer in the U.S. representing 8.2% of all new cancer cases.

"Minorities have higher mortality rates and higher incidence rates of colorectal cancer than their white counterparts. Lack of information and knowledge of resources available is a major part of the problem, but if everyone aged 50 years or older had regular screening tests, at least 60% of deaths from colorectal cancer could be avoided. . . ."

Journalists were urged to contact the FDA Office of Media Affairs, <fdaoma@fda.hhs.gov>, for more information.

Dwight Lewis retired as editorial page editor at the Tennessean in Nashville four years ago. He periodically warned readers to avoid his experience.

Lewis wrote in 2009:

"I want to use this space once again to warn some of you not to be like me when it comes to getting medical screenings, and in this particular case, screenings for cancer.

"'I tried to get you to come in to get your colon examined when you turned 50,' said Dr. Jeffrey Eskind, a gastroenterologist who practices at Nashville's Saint Thomas Hospital.

"'You almost waited too late, and if you had waited just a little while longer, you would have been dead meat.'

"Because I wasn't having any symptoms of colorectal cancer, Dr. Eskind said he was just going to look at my lower colon.

"'Everything is beautiful,' I could hear him saying (I wasn't sedated). 'Since you're taking it OK, I am going to go ahead and look up top.'

"Thank goodness he did, because he discovered a small tumor. His brother, Dr. Steven Eskind, removed it during surgery the next day.

"Further examination revealed that the cancer had not spread. I was released from Saint Thomas four days later and, luckily, did not have to have any chemotherapy or radiation treatments.

"That was because the tumor was discovered in its early stages. As Dr. Eskind told me, if I had waited just a little while longer, I would have started having symptoms and 'would have been dead meat.'

"I am not the only one today who will tell you that early screenings for cancer can help prevent you from getting the disease or enable you to get treatments early enough so that cancer isn't a death sentence."