William Miles Owens is one of the fortunate ones in a state that ranks third in the nation for cancer death rates.
Owens was told he had prostate cancer six years ago. He was 62.
"I didn't want to have chemotherapy because of the side effects," Owens said. "I wanted to have a treatment of freezing the prostate, but I kept getting an answer that I couldn't do it. I got it done, and here I am."
Owens was one of several patients among the 150 professionals attending the two-day Tennessee Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalition Summit 2009. Titled "Passport to the Future: A Cancer-Free Tennessee," it began at Meharry Medical College in Nashville on Thursday.
The summit, in its fifth year, is tackling issues of access, outreach and research, including addressing the disparities among minorities who have cancer.
"That's why I'm here," Owens said. "Friends and church members have died of what I had. There's been a disparity for a long time."
There were 1.4 million Americans diagnosed with cancer last year. About 1,500 die daily from the disease nationwide, according to the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. For black women, the cancer death rate is 41 percent higher than white women. For black men with prostate cancer, the death rate is 238 percent higher, according to Meharry.
Tennessee ranks 21st in the nation for new cancer cases.
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