Showing posts with label African American Women and Breast Cancer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label African American Women and Breast Cancer. Show all posts

Saturday, October 01, 2022

Black women face a triple threat from breast cancer making early detection important. GET THOSE MAMMOGRAMS

For Black women in America, a breast cancer diagnosis brings with it a disturbing statistic. Black women are less likely to develop breast cancer but 40 percent more likely to die from it than white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That alarming state makes early detection all the more critical for Black women. Yamiche Alcindor reports on the complicated story behind the statistics.

The video below is a year old but still relevant today. Get those mammograms ladies!

Friday, June 23, 2017

More Breast Cancers Diagnosed Early After "ObamaCare" Took Effect



MAYWOOD, Ill.June 23, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A Loyola University Chicago study published this month has found an increase in the percentage of breast cancer patients who were diagnosed in early Stage 1, after the Affordable Care Act took effect.
The increases in Stage 1 diagnoses were higher among African American and Latina breast cancer patients, compared to white patients.
The study by Abigail Silva, PhD, MPH, and colleagues is published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology. Silva is an assistant professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences of Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.
The Affordable Care Act eliminated copayments and other out-of-pocket costs for 45 preventive care services, including mammograms. This made mammograms more affordable, potentially leading to earlier diagnoses.
The earlier cancer is detected, the more effectively it can be treated. Diagnosing breast cancer when it is still in Stage 1 could improve the prognosis for thousands of women and reduce the need for invasive treatments such as chemotherapy for a substantial number of women, Silva and colleagues wrote.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United States. The American Cancer Society estimates nearly 253,000 women will be diagnosed this year.
Compared to white women, Latinas are less likely to receive mammograms overall and African Americans are less likely to receive mammograms at recommended intervals. Out-of-pocket payments have been identified as a potential barrier to getting screening mammograms.
The retrospective study included 470,465 breast cancer patients between the ages of 50 and 74 who were covered by private insurance or Medicare and were newly diagnosed with Stage 1-4 cancer. Researchers examined two time periods: 2007-2009 (before the Affordable Care Act took effect) and 2011-2013 (after the act took effect). Researchers obtained data from the National Cancer Database, which includes approximately 70 percent of all newly diagnosed cancers in the United States from about 1,500 hospitals.
Overall, the percentage of breast cancers that were diagnosed at Stage 1 increased 3.6 percentage points, from 54.4 percent to 58.0 percent. There was a corresponding decrease in Stage 2 and Stage 3 diagnoses, while the proportion of Stage 4 cancers did not change. The shift toward Stage 1 breast cancer diagnoses increased by 3.2 percentage points among whites, 4.0 percentage points among African Americans and 4.1 percentage points among Latinas.
Compared to African Americans and Latinas, a higher percentage of white breast cancer patients are diagnosed at Stage 1. This disparity decreased following the Affordable Care Act, as minorities saw modestly higher improvements in Stage 1 diagnoses.
Researchers concluded that further studies to evaluate the impact of the Affordable Care Act on cancer outcomes and disparities "should be supported as they will help inform future policy recommendations."
The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Avon Foundation.
The study is titled "Potential impact of the Affordable Care Act's preventive services provision on breast cancer stage: A preliminary assessment."
In addition to Silva, other co-authors are Talar Markossian, PhD, MPH, of Loyola's Department of Public Health Sciences; Yamile Molina, PhD, of the University of Illinois School of Public Health, and Nazia Saiyed, MPH, of the Sinai Urban Health Institute.

Monday, October 05, 2015

Alarming Facts About African American Women and Breast Cancer

Did you know breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among black women?

Although breast cancer is diagnosed more often for white women, African American women are more likely to die of breast cancer, according to a recent study by the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Specifically, in women under 45, breast cancer is more common in African American women than white women.

Here are a few more facts about breast cancer and the action you can take today:

In 2015 alone, an estimated 231,840 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed, along with 60,290 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer, according to SusanGKomen.org. Many studies indicate these decreases are due to the result of earlier detection through screening, treatment advancements, and increased awareness.

The breast cancer death rate for women aged 45–64 years was 60% higher for black women than white women, according to the CDC National Vital Statistics System.

The median age at diagnosis in African American women is 54 years, compared with a median age of 58 years in white women.

Read more: Alarming Facts About African American Women and Breast Cancer