Iconic Paintings of Chadwick Boseman & RBG Benefit Cancer Fight

A silent auction from Wednesday, November 3, 12 noon - Saturday, November 7, 9 p.m., is taking place as part of the virtual 21st Annual Taste For Life of the American Cancer Society, including original paintings by Baltimore artist Will Brown of Chadwick Boseman and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, paying tribute to these two iconic figures who lost their lives to cancer. Brown was inspired to donate these paintings, titled Chadwick Boseman Black Panther Tribute and Ruth Bader Ginsberg Superhero Tribute, to support the American Cancer Society’s fight against cancer.

To learn more about Will Brown, stt Instagram @Artist_Wil_Brown or https://www.facebook.com/willhazeybrown

To sign up and for directions to participate in the Taste For Life auction which features these two pieces of art, go to www.tasteforlife.org or www.facebook.com/tasteforlifeacs.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had four bouts with cancer: In 1999, she was diagnosed with colon cancer; in late 2018, cancerous nodules were removed from her left lung, and in 2009, she was diagnosed with early stage pancreatic cancer which recurred in 2019. She passed away with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in September 18, 2020 at age 87. Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S.

Chadwick Boseman, who portrayed iconic Black Americans James Brown and Jackie Robinson in movies, as well as the playing the lead in the movie Black Panther, died of colorectal cancer at age 43 in August 28, 2020. He was diagnosed four years earlier.

Chadwick Boseman’s passing from young-onset colorectal cancer was at the intersection of two risk groups: colorectal cancer rates are about 20% higher in Blacks than non-Hispanic whites, but death rates are almost 40% higher in Blacks. The rate at which younger age groups are being diagnosed with colorectal cancer in the US is rising, according to the American Cancer Society. In 2020, 12% of colorectal cancer cases will be diagnosed in people under 50 – about 18,000 cases. Rates have been increasing since the mid-1980s in adults ages 20-39 years and since the mid-1990s in adults ages 40-54 years, with younger age groups experiencing the steepest increase. In 2018, the American Cancer Society lowered its recommended starting age for regular colorectal cancer screening from 50 to age 45. People with a family history of the disease or other risk factors should talk with their doctor about starting screening at a younger age.