The Onc Docs: Partnering with Black cancer patients for cancer education.

Abstract

e18681 Background: In 2022, there will be approximately 224,080 new cancer cases and 73,680 cancer deaths among Black individuals in the United States. Black people are disproportionately burdened by cancer due to higher incidence and mortality levels across multiple cancer types. Yet, their stories are underrepresented in media and the top podcasts for cancer education do not feature Black experts. We formed our podcast, The Onc Docs, to highlight the (under-told) stories of Black individuals with cancer and to provide education about cancer from Black patient survivors, patient advocates and oncologists.We sought to understand the current landscape of podcasts focused on the Black cancer experience & to assess public engagement with The Onc Docs across social media platforms. Methods: We conducted a search of "Black cancer" in Google, Spotify and Apple podcasts. Search engines were also utilized to identify podcasts with a focus on the Black cancer experience. Finally, we reviewed our publicly available listener and follower statistics. Results: At least 12 podcasts on the Black cancer experience were identified with the majority available on Google Podcasts. Seven of the twelve podcasts focused on breast cancer in Black women while two podcasts discussed prostate cancer and one featured brain tumors. Two podcasts (17%) published episodes for one or more years. The remaining podcasts (n = 10) were in existence for an average of 3 months. Three podcasts had published an episode in 2022. Since starting our podcast in September 2020, we have 958 Twitter followers and 400 followers on Instagram. According to Spotify, from 2021-2022, our podcast was heard in 4 countries, increased 87% in streams, 40% in listeners and 235% in hours spent listening to our episodes. On Google Podcasts, we have 4 subscribers. Each month, about 100 unique visitors navigate to our website. Conclusions: Podcasts on the Black cancer experience are needed especially those with a focus apart from breast cancer. Prior podcasts may lack longevity due to a lack of financial and infrastructural support needed to sustain a podcast. In the past year, our work has garnered attention from the general public and gained traction with patient advocacy and scientific associations like Black in Cancer, Cancer Research UK, and Touch Breast Cancer. However, additional efforts & support are needed to ensure consistent creation and delivery of episodes. For instance, we can utilize Facebook, the largest social media platform, to expand our reach. With future growth, we will be able to access data analytic tools to determine the demographic breakdown of our audience and if we are reaching Black listeners.