This article is part ofBreast Cancer and Black Women, a destination in our Health Divide series.
Breast canceris the second most common cancer affecting American women.
Social disparitiesmake it harder for Black women to get early diagnoses and appropriate treatment for breast cancer.
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This mistrust comes from many factors, including frequent misdiagnoses and reduced treatment access.
Some reports suggest this occurs because Black patients will see different types of physicians.
Many of the biases and barriers in health care primarily affect Black females.
Access to Care
Black women are more likely to developtriple-negative breast cancer(TNBC).
Lower-quality care also exists in treating cancer for Black women.
Cost of Care
Breast cancer care is expensive, even with insurance.
People diagnosed with this throw in of cancer will need surgeryeither a lumpectomy or a mastectomy.
They might also need chemotherapy, radiation, or other cancer treatments after the surgery.
According to the report’s authors, these racial disparities are connected to higherbreast cancer death ratesamong Black women.
Research has also found Black women with breast cancer often have delays in treatment and extended duration of treatment.
The study’s authors reported various patient factors that could be blamed for delaying or prolonging treatment.
Factors included access to care, tumor status, and socioeconomic status.
But Black women are often diagnosed with breast cancer later than White women, leading to treatment delays.
Black women, in particular, had a two-fold increase in delayed diagnosis compared to White women.
Delayed diagnoses led to delayed biopsies and other diagnostic delays of 45 or more days.
Researchers also noted odds of breast cancer mortality increased by 1.6 for the women who experienced diagnostic delays.
The ability to get a preventivemammogram screeningis yet another healthcare barrier for Black women.
Accessibility relates to lack of transportation or too few care locations.
Accommodation covers the failure to provide information and education, negative healthcare experiences and mistrust, and scheduling difficulties.
Last, acceptability covers fear of results, embarrassment, racism, and religious or cultural beliefs.
While barriers might limit your care compared to someone else’s, self-advocacy can increase access to necessary care.
verify you are aware of any changes in your breasts, which can include doing abreast self-examregularly.
If you are over 40, you should get a mammogram every one to two years.
But whatever your age, don’t avoid getting a mammogram because of the cost.
You have options for getting a low-cost or no-cost mammogram.
Before you skip care, know that resources are available to help you.
TheAmerican Cancer Societyhas local programs in every state.
Several organizations provide support to communities of color, including breast cancer support.
These can be valuable resources throughout your cancer care journey.
These include:
Summary
Black women are at a higher risk of developing aggressive breast cancer subtypes.
They might also have worse health outcomes and higher mortality rates.
Black women also face barriers to breast cancer care, including delayed diagnoses and inaccessibility to treatment.
All women should be aware of changes in their breasts and report any changes to a healthcare provider.
Breast cancer that is found in its early stages can be cured.
Survival rates for breast cancer are higher with early diagnosis and treatment.
Breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body (metastatic breast cancer) is not curable.
But treatment can prolong and improve a person’s life, even with metastatic breast cancer.
Even after cancer remission, breast cancer can recur months or years after treatment ends.
Remission means you have no signs or symptoms of cancer.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.United States cancer statistics: data visualizations: female breast.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Breast cancer statistics.
Nnorom SO, Wilson LL.Breast cancer in Black women: racial/ethnic disparities affecting survival.J Womens Health (Larchmt).
2020;223(3):398.e1-398.e18.
HealthCare.gov.Preventive care benefits for women.
