Study shows that breast cancer is the number two killer of black women. Here’s what you need to know.
By: Taren Vaughan
Breast cancer is a disease that has claimed the lives of many of my loved ones and others family and friends all over the world. Even though there have been major advancements in the research and treatments for various forms of cancer, it still continues to have a lasting, sometimes terminal, impact on a person’s health.
According to a group of researchers at HealthCore: African American women (6.1 percent) are twice as likely to develop breast cancer than white women (3.6 percent). African American women are more likely to be diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer while white women are more likely to be diagnosed with stage 0 or 1. Shocking? Well maybe to some. The sad reality is that this comparison between breast cancer rates amongst African American women versus Caucasian American women has almost always not been in our favor.
Is this something that can be prevented?
These startling numbers can be attributed to other factors including socioeconomic status, age and education as far as health topics are concerned. A person’s socioeconomic background can have a major impact on what kind of health care that they receive. As we all know, the cost of health care insurance can be extremely high especially when extensive treatments are necessary. As far as age is concerned, it has been said that many women who develop breast cancer are older but there have been cases where younger females have developed life threatening forms of the disease as well. Educating ourselves on different health related topics is one of the factors that I feel is of significant importance. This is something that many of us do not do simply because we are scared about what we will find out. On the other hand, some of us are not as health conscious as we should be period. Of course all of these factors can affect your chances of developing breast cancer, but being educated about your condition gives you the ability to inform others who could be potentially be at risk of developing the disease.
As research continues to improve, the different forms of breast cancer will become easier to treat and the survival rates will increase. This is good news not only for African American women but for women of all different races as it does affect all of us as a whole.