Friday, September 11, 2015
Muriel Lights' Candle Designs: Black Women and Breast CancerSurviving Breast Canc...
Muriel Lights' Candle Designs: Black Women and Breast CancerSurviving Breast Canc...: Black Women and Breast Cancer Surviving Breast Cancer through Early Detection and Diagnosis Cancer is a topic which is close to my ...
Black Women and Breast Cancer
Surviving Breast Cancer through Early Detection and Diagnosis
Cancer is a topic which is close to my heart especially after losing several family members to the disease. Never ever would I believe the day would come when both my daughter and I would have friends who were battling breast cancer at the same time. What is more unbelievable is that her friends are both sisters who lost there mother to breast cancer. And sadly one of the Sister's succumbed to her cancer memorial day 2015, after 5 years of using her voice to help others with cancer and prevention tools to detect cancer early. Her sister caught her cancer in early stage and her prognosis is good.
My friend presently is stage two and presently ongoing treatment of chemo which will last for several months with radiation treatment included. She states her prognosis is good and her doctor has given her a five year survival rate.
For me the shock that breast cancer death in women of color continues to surpass white women even when their diagnosis is high. This a heath disparity we must change. In honor of these women who stories I share my heart goes out to them and their families, I hope they continue to tell their stories and save lives.
My friend presently is stage two and presently ongoing treatment of chemo which will last for several months with radiation treatment included. She states her prognosis is good and her doctor has given her a five year survival rate.
For me the shock that breast cancer death in women of color continues to surpass white women even when their diagnosis is high. This a heath disparity we must change. In honor of these women who stories I share my heart goes out to them and their families, I hope they continue to tell their stories and save lives.
The Issue
Nothing speaks more clearly to the shocking breast cancer health disparities than the fact that Black women are less likely than white women to get breast cancer, yet have a higher breast cancer death rate. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Black women and in 2010, the CDC reported that breast cancer was the leading cause of cancer death for Black women aged 45--64 years. What was most alarming in this CDC report was that the breast cancer death rate for women aged 45--64 years was 60% higher for Black women than white women (56.8 and 35.6 deaths per 100,000, respectively). (CDC: National Vital Statistics System:http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss.htm)
Why this is important for Black women
The growing breast cancer disparities that exist between Black women and white women are alarming. Although the overall lifetime risk of breast cancer is lower for Black women compared with white women, the death rates are higher. It is important to note that Black women also have a lower 5 year survival rate at 77% compared to that of 90% for white women. Contrary to prevailing beliefs, younger Black women up to age 44 have a higher incidence of breast cancer than white women, (U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group. United States Cancer Statistics: 1999–2006 Incidence and Mortality www.cdc.gov/uscs).
What Black women need to know?
Breast cancer tends to appear in Black women at a younger age and in more advanced forms. In fact, Black women are two times more likely to develop triple negative breast cancer, an aggressive form of the disease which has fewer effective treatment options. Triple-negative breast cancers tend to grow and spread more quickly than most other types of breast cancer. We also are known to have denser breast, one of the strongest predictors of risk for breast cancer and also is a known factor limiting the sensitivity of a screening mammogram. Mammograms of breasts with higher density have been described as harder to read and interpret than those of less dense breasts. A small cancer can be concealed by dense breast tissue or by the overlap of normal breast structures.
Many women with early breast cancer have no symptoms. That is why it is so crucial to get screened before symptoms have a chance to appear. However, the most common sign of breast cancer is a new lump or mass. A painless, hard mass that has irregular edges is more likely to be cancerous, but breast cancers can be tender, soft, or rounded. For this reason, it is important that you have any new breast mass or lump checked by a health care professional experienced in diagnosing breast diseases.
Other signs may include:
- Swelling of all or part of the breast
- Skin irritation or dimpling
- Pain in the breast or nipple
- Thickening of the nipple or breast
- Discharge other than breast milk
What the Imperative is doing
At the Black Women’s Health Imperative, we know that Black women have not benefited from the advances in breast cancer research and new technologies. It is our mission to raise questions, seek understanding, and call attention to what is happening to Black women.
Through our advocacy, policy and national and community-based initiatives, we are working to make eliminating breast cancer disparities among young Black women a public health priority. We do this by:
- Educating women on the importance of early detection and quick diagnosis
- Promoting routine breast self-exam (BSE) and clinical breast exam (CBE)
- Advocating for screening guidelines that are responsive to the needs of Black women
- Advocating for increased access to new screening tools and quality diagnosis and treatment services
- Advocating and supporting policies and practices that call for early education and screening among younger women
- Building leadership in communities to address breast health disparities
- Engaging women across the country through surveys and focus groups; and listening to the issues and concerns of Black women related to breast cancer
- Engaging researchers, clinicians, educators and survivors in ongoing dialogue to identify strategies for reducing breast health disparities
- Working collectively in coalitions at the national and local levels to raise awareness of breast cancer issues for Black women
- Supporting community organizations in identifying and implementing effective interventions for reducing breast cancer disparities
What Black Women Can Do: Detect. Diagnose. Survive
Early detection is critically important, especially for women at higher risk. For Black women who have been diagnosed at the earliest stage of breast cancer when the tumor is small and localized, early diagnosis can make a difference.
For most of us, early detection and diagnosis are attainable with a few easy steps:
- Have your provider show you how to perform monthly breast self-examination (BSE) and perform it faithfully at the same time each month.
- See your provider for a clinical breast examination (CBE) at least once a year.
- Have regular mammograms. Since breast density is one of the strongest risk factors for Black women developing breast cancer, insist on digital mammography or some of the newer more advanced technologies that help detect tumors
- Learn more about what the Imperative is doing to make breast cancer disparities a priority through our national campaign to end breast cancer disparities, Moving Beyond Pink and sign up for becoming an advocate in your organization and community.
Breast Cancer News
Published Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Adding a newer test to digital mammograms can increase the detection rate for breast cancer and decrease nerve-racking false alarms, in which suspicious findings lead women to get extra scans that turn out normal, a study found.
Monday, September 7, 2015
Muriel Lights' Candle Designs: Breast Care
Muriel Lights' Candle Designs: Breast Care: Breast Self-Awareness Your Breast Care: Helpful Hints for Women Except for skin cancers, breast cancer is the most common cancer in w...
Muriel Lights' Candle Designs: Breast Care
Muriel Lights' Candle Designs: Breast Care: Breast Self-Awareness Your Breast Care: Helpful Hints for Women Except for skin cancers, breast cancer is the most common cancer in w...
Breast Care
Breast Self-Awareness
Except for skin cancers, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, but it can be successfully treated. Screening tests can find cancer early, when it’s most treatable.
Susan G. Komen for the Cure® recommends that you:
1. Know your risk
- Talk to your family to learn about your family health history
- Talk to your provider about your personal risk of breast cancer
2. Get screened
- Ask your doctor which screening tests are right for you if you are at a higher risk
- Have a mammogram every year starting at age 40 if you are at average risk
- Have a clinical breast exam at least every 3 years starting at age 20, and every year starting at age 40
3. Know what is normal for you
See your health care provider if you notice any of these breast changes:
See your health care provider if you notice any of these breast changes:
- Lump, hard knot or thickening inside the breast or underarm area
- Swelling, warmth, redness or darkening of the breast
- Change in the size or shape of the breast
- Dimpling or puckering of the skin
- Itchy, scaly sore or rash on the nipple
- Pulling in of your nipple or other parts of the breast
- Nipple discharge that starts suddenly
- New pain in one spot that doesn’t go away
4. Make healthy lifestyle choices http://www.komennyc.org/site/PageServer?pagename=breasthealth_awareness
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Add exercise into your routine
- Limit alcohol intake
- Limit postmenopausal hormone use
- Breastfeed, if you can
References: http://www.komennyc.org/site/PageServer?pagename=breasthealth_awareness
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