Breast cancer death rates among black women were found to be 41 percent higher than other women diagnosed with the illness though diagnoses of the disease is slightly higher among white women.
Breast cancer is one of the most common form of cancer among women, irrespective of race and ethnicity. Though previous studies have established that diagnosis of the disease is most common among white women, death rate due to this illness is higher among black women. A recent American Cancer Society report also revealed that breast cancer incidence rates among black women have increased quite significantly between 2006 and 2010. Researchers also found that black women develop breast cancer at an earlier stage than white women. While white women are more vulnerable to the cancer at the age of 62, black women can develop breast cancer by the average age of 58.
According to Dr. Lewis Jones, director of breast imaging at McLaren Greater Lansing Breast Care Center, the main reason behind this can be poverty and the lack of resources to get one properly treated.
"Particularly if you're poor (and) lack insurance, you don't really understand what's going on, you're treated like a second-class citizen in some of these places," he said, "So there are a lot of issues that affect minorities, not only blacks, but Hispanics, Arabs, etc."
Another reason can be because black women tend to visit doctors and opt for treatment later than other women. Black women are often the head of the family and hence put off visiting a doctor longer so that they can run their households smoothly and save money for other requirements. They also often live under the hope that the illness will go away without treatment. Therefore, most black women are not diagnosed with breast cancer until the tumor has spread to different parts of the body like the lymph nodes.
Researchers also noted that black women with breast cancer also have a worse prognosis than white women with the illness.
Early detection of the disease is crucial in order to fight it. When the tumor spreads to different parts of the body, it becomes difficult to eradicate and treat. Treatments are more aggressive and this leads to larger side effects. Chemotherapy can cause heart attacks in some patients and more such sessions are required to treat breast cancer in its later stages.
Though breast cancer death rates have dropped by 34 percent, researchers noted that the diagnosis rate of the illness has increased slightly in the United States. The American Cancer Society recommends that all women should have mammograms done every year after they turn 40. This can help in the early detection of the disease, making it easier to treat.
