Raising Breast Cancer Awareness
by Lauren N Thompson, MHS
October is annually decorated with pink, offering everything from 5k walks to free exams in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM). This observance period is critical to increasing public knowledge about breast cancer, driving fundraising efforts to support research, encouraging regular screenings, and more. Here’s what you need to know about this harrowing disease, those disproportionately impacted, common misconceptions, and ways you can advocate. Understanding breast cancer As defined by the National Breast Cancer Foundation , Inc., “Cancer is a broad term for a class of diseases characterized by abnormal cells that grow and invade healthy cells in the body. Breast cancer starts in the cells of the breast as a group of cancer cells that can then invade surrounding tissues or spread (metastasize) to other areas of the body.” While there are no confirmed direct causes of breast cancer, risk factors include gender, family history, age, poor diet, lack of physical activity, genetics, heart disease, and more. Those disproportionately impacted Per the American Cancer Society , breast cancer is the second most common cancer for women and the second leading cause of death for women in the United States. Women of all ages are at risk for breast cancer, and that risk increases as we get older.
However, it is the most common cancer for Black women. Black women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer, contributing to a higher death rate among those with the disease. Furthermore, Black women are both more likely to be diagnosed at a younger age and 42% more likely to die than their White counterparts. But why? Researchers recently published an article in the J ournal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities outlining possible contributing factors. Structural racism, bias from medical providers, barriers to healthcare access, and mistrust of the medical system have long contributed to health disparities between Black and White Americans. Additionally, clinical research less often includes Black women, with non-White women only representing 10%- 15% of breast cancer clinical trial participants. Common misconceptions Dr. Jeanine Werner, an oncologist with Maryland Oncology Hematology, has been treating patients with breast cancer for 30 years. She highlighted a common and dangerous misconception that mammograms cause breast cancer. A mammogram is a safe X-ray picture of breast tissue that can detect tumors that may otherwise go unnoticed and untreated. Modern mammograms involve a minuscule amount of radiation exposure. The
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