A Terrible Strength: Kemi Doll on Black Women the Uterus and Women’s Health

Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic cancer in the U.S. — more common than cervical or ovarian — and both its incidence and its death rate have been climbing for decades. For years, the guideline meant to catch it in postmenopausal women missed it in Black women. Dr. Kemi Doll worked to change this.

Kemi is a Gynecologic Oncologist and Professor at the University of Washington. She directs the GRACE Center in the Dept of Ob-Gyn a multidisciplinary research center focused on eliminating systemic racial and gender inequities in gynecologic care, with a specific emphasis on combating preventable deaths from endometrial cancer in Black women. She co-founded ECANA, the Endometrial Cancer Action Network for African Americans, and her research on missed diagnoses helped drive ACOG's April 2026 update to national screening guidance.

Kemi is the author of A Terrible Strength: The Hidden Crisis of the Black Womb, which includes a discussion of heavy bleeding, endometriosis, fibroids, and endometrial cancer.

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