McEachin sets an example for health care — again

“The best test is the test that gets done,” said Dr. Timothy Quinn, a Black doctor in Mississippi who tested himself with a Cologuard at-home kit after turning 50 recently.

Quinn, who owns Quinn Healthcare in Ridgeland, just outside of the Mississippi state capital of Jackson, treats mostly Black patients, many of whom he said are reluctant to visit a doctor for a colonoscopy that involves unpleasant prepping the previous night and anesthesia to perform.

“Research has overwhelmingly demonstrated that in the African American community, we have a higher prevalence of either being diagnosed with cancer or, even worse, being diagnosed with cancer at a later stage,” he said

Quinn is touting the examples of McEachin and Boseman to deliver the message of colorectal screening far beyond his own practice and state. But his model is his grandfather, who died of cancer but told his son to tell the story so others would not wait to test for the disease.

“He felt that no death should be in vain,” his grandson said.

Getting people to test for colorectal cancer, especially at a doctor’s office, became harder during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the American Cancer Society.

“We really want to close that gap,” said Brian Donohue, director of government relations for the organization’s Cancer Action Network in Virginia.

Donohue estimated that 3,610 Virginians will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer this year and 1,370 will die from the disease.

The cancer society “remains steadfast in our work to address disparities in screening that contribute to the alarming rate of colorectal cancer deaths in Virginia,” he said.

Those disparities are clearest with African American adults, according to a research paper by the the national organization in 2020. “Collectively, Black people have the highest death rates and shortest survival rates of any racial/ethnic group in the U.S. for most cancers,” the paper states.

Donohue said, “A person’s ZIP Code should not determine their access to healthcare or the quality of their healthcare.”

Long associated with older adults, colorectal cancer now is affecting people at a younger age, which is why the cancer society now recommends that people begin screening for the disease at 45 instead of 50.

“I can’t stress to you enough the importance of early detection,” McEachin said at the “Black Panther” screening.

He often set an example for others to follow in providing or seeking health care, but it wasn’t easy for a man who generally kept details of his own health private and refused to let his personal struggles affect his public service.

Before McEachin disclosed his cancer diagnosis to the Senate in 2014, he had been undergoing chemotherapy treatment during the legislative session without even telling his staff.

“He went to chemo without ever saying a word, without ever missing a vote,” recalled Abbi Easter, his self-described “chief of stuff” then and a longtime political consultant, aide and friend.

“He went to chemo, but still put his constituents and the Senate first,” Easter said Friday. “It was unbelievable what he did.”

And, by his legacy — she said — continues to do.