Award-winning hip-hop artist, actor, and activist Common is the star of Stand Up To Cancer’s (SU2C) new public service announcement (PSA) about lung cancer, “Lung Cancer Facts With Common.” In the PSA and its accompanying webpage, Common highlights the significant impact of lung cancer in medically underserved Black American communities.

In the spot, Common explains that Black Americans are more likely to develop advanced lung cancer than members of any other racial group and that lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths among Black Americans. He notes that more than 25,000 Black Americans receive lung cancer diagnoses each year.

According to the American Lung Association’s 2021 State of Lung Cancer report, Black Americans are 18 percent less likely to receive early diagnoses than white Americans, 23 percent less likely to receive surgical lung cancer treatment, and 21 percent less likely to survive for five years after diagnosis.

As Common explains in the PSA, these disparities can be attributed to a number of factors, including systemic socioeconomic issues, like lack of access to quality health care and lack of insurance coverage, and historically rooted issues, including mistrust in health care systems. These factors — as well as new discoveries, such as differences in biological pathways in lung cancer among Black and white Americans — all contribute to the disproportionate impact of cancer.

Common encourages viewers to empower themselves and to take control of their health by educating themselves about their or their loved one’s lung cancer diagnosis and treatment options, learning about lung cancer, and exploring screening options and available clinical trials by visiting Stand Up To Cancer’s Lung Cancer webpage.

Common’s personal connection to cancer motivated him to participate in the PSA, he said in an SU2C press release. “In 2014, my father died after his battle with cancer,” he explained. “He was truly someone who inspired me and made me want to be better. I believe that we can do better for ourselves — especially as Black men when it comes to health.”

The PSA can be seen on SU2C’s YouTube channel.