Cancer Risk, Risk Reduction, and Screening and Treatment Access among U.S. South Asians

Abstract

This chapter explores cancer risk, risk reduction, and screening and treatment access among South Asian Americans and describes several biological and lifestyle factors that affect South Asians' cancer risk. It begins with the epidemiology of cancer among South Asians in the United States; genetic factors and risk factors. Following this, it discusses the infections and cancer risk such as human papillomavirus, hepatitis b, and hepatitis c. The chapter provides a brief description about human microbiome; water supply and arsenic poisoning in Bangladesh and West Bengal. It also explains about the air pollution and exposure to particulate matter. Finally the chapter discusses the health behaviors such as use of alternative tobacco products, diet, physical activity, sleep and stress; and health care access and utilization: pap testing, breast, colorectal, and oral cancer screening, use of complementary medicine, palliative care, and linguistically responsive care. Health services research needs to be conducted to examine health systems barriers to and facilitators of care, and to ensure that protections already in place for linguistic minorities are enforced, especially in light of the tremendous linguistic diversity of the South Asian community. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)