key: cord-0783621-j33toevc
authors: Bazan, Jose G.
title: Comment On: Why Racial Justice Matters in Radiation Oncology
date: 2020-08-18
journal: Adv Radiat Oncol
DOI: 10.1016/j.adro.2020.07.014
sha: 124f125da10a27c02378d8e4f86e57f65f03eaee
doc_id: 783621
cord_uid: j33toevc

nan

To the Editor, I applaud Chapman et al. for initiating a difficult, thought-provoking conversation regarding structural racism in their work "Why Racial Justice Matters in Radiation Oncology 1 ." As the authors correctly point out, systemic racism in the medical system begins far before anyone in our field sees a patient who has already been diagnosed with cancer. Given their championing of this issue, I encourage them to pursue this before a broader audience.

However, I also challenge them to consider whether their piece is too narrowly focused. The authors heavily criticized Dr. DeWeese's "Special Message from the ASTRO Chair 2 ". They state that Dr. DeWeese's "'All Lives Matter'" confession dilutes the message and fails to speak directly to anti-Black violence…" This led to a response by Dr. DeWeese 3 and this Journal's editorial board 4 exclusively addressing anti-Black racism.

My concern is that painting this as purely Black versus white creates a false dichotomy that overlooks the legitimate needs of non-Black and non-white patients and potentially gives non-Black and non-white practitioners an "out" to avoid introspective consideration of what part they can play in a solution to this long-standing, endemic problem. As a Latino, I initially felt that I should avoid this conversation. But as I write this, the Latinx community in my hometown in south Texas is getting decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic underscoring the point that systemic racism in this country is not only a Black versus white conversation.

The ATIP and LEADS principles set forth by Chapman et al. are a great starting point towards a solution. But let's not start the process by excluding other racial/ethnic groups that suffer from systemic racism. My stance is not an "All Lives Matter" approach as that implies that I believe all people are equally at risk of suffering systemic racism's consequences, which is not the case.

Without hesitation, I stand with Drs. Chapman et al., ASTRO, and Advances to fight against anti-Black racism. I firmly believe that "Tu lucha es mi lucha." But with these recent Advances articles, I am now left to wonder who will stand with me to combat racism against the Latinx community and its disparate impact on health the next time Mexicans are targeted and murdered while shopping in a US border town? Or the next time a Latino man dies at the hands of police while handcuffed and pleading for water? Will you be there with me?

Why Racial Justice Matters in Radiation Oncology

Special Message from the ASTRO Chair. Daily Practice

Confronting Racism in Radiation Oncology: Now Is the Time and Today Is the Day

Addressing the Impact of Systemic Racism in Radiation Oncology