In an effort to reduce the high rate of colorectal cancer deaths among Black Americans, Providence St. Joseph Health is turning to some trusted and influential voices in Black communities — church pastors. Thirty Black Los Angeles church leaders
are part of an exhibit that encourages preventive screenings. The pastors are pictured on 6-foot-high banners accompanied by a quote from each. The banners will travel among the churches and Providence hospitals in the Los Angeles area. The American
Cancer Society says Black Americans are about 20% more likely than members of other racial or ethnic groups to get colorectal cancer and about 40% more likely to die from it. The display went up in mid-April at Providence St. John's Health Center
in Santa Monica, California. On hand for the opening was Dr. Anton Bilchik, a surgeon who treated actor Chadwick Boseman. The star of the blockbuster movie "Black Panther," Boseman died of colon cancer in 2020 at the age of 43.