STL Breast Cancer Death Disparity Rate Among US Highest

This post was originally published on St. Louis American

By Ariama C. Long

Breast cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death among women, but research shows that despite a slight decline in the mortality rate due to earlier detection and improvements in treatment, Black women are still at a 40% higher risk of death from breast cancers than white women.

In a Susan G. Komen report published last year, “Closing the Breast Cancer Gap: A Roadmap to Save the Lives of Black Women in America,” the nationwide breast cancer awareness organization studied 10 cities with the highest reported disparities for Black women when it comes to breast cancer.

The cities were Dallas, Memphis, Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis, Tidewater, Va., Houston, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, and Los Angeles.

The report found that Black women experience higher rates of death from breast cancer because of a myriad of factors, including “barriers to early diagnosis, the aggressive nature of certain breast cancers that are more prevalent in Black women, and systemic racism, discrimination and a lack of quality care.” 

Black women who often spoke up for themselves within the healthcare setting were ignored or met with disapproval, which often led to delays in treatment and deepening mistrust, said the report. 

Natasha Mmeje, director of community education and outreach at Susan G. Komen, said that there’s a huge disparity in death rates in women of color and that Black women tend to be diagnosed with later-stage breast cancer as well.

Breast cancers, such as triple-negative breast cancer [TNBC] and inflammatory breast cancer, are considered extremely aggressive because they grow and spread quickly.

TNBC is commonly found in Black women younger than 40 or ones that have the BRCA1/BRCA2 mutations in their genes. This type of breast cancer also, unfortunately, has fewer treatments available than other types.

“It’s a perfect storm of issues that have been brewing for a long time in our country, and they expand across health care and generally our society at large,” said Mmeje.

“Really, what we know is that Black women are dying more than white women because all of our systems have failed them and continue to fail them at every point in their breast cancer journeys.” 

Mmeje posited that one explanation for such high death rates among Black women could be the lack of timely access to mammograms since most doctors recommend screenings at 40 and not at younger ages where Black women are being affected. 

The Komen report concluded that other root causes for the disparities may be a lack of knowledge and study of genetic testing in the Black community, inequitable research on Black women in clinical trials, a high percentage of medically underserved communities, and the social and economic gap. Historically, said the study, Black people do not volunteer for genetic testing and studies, and Black women are less likely to go to the doctor or take prescribed medications.

Dr. Vivian Bea is the section chief of breast surgical oncology at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital and an assistant professor of surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine.

She says it is imperative to know your risk, as well as family history, get screened early and bring a friend for support if you can. Also, administering self-breast exams to lower the chances of breast cancer.

She emphasized that women should not let fear stop them.

When I take care of my Black patients … I can’t tell you how often I hear, ‘I trust you because you look like me,'” she recently told TODAY.

“I hear stories of, ‘I talked to this doctor, and I told them I had a mass, and they told me it was nothing,’ or, ‘I had a pain, and they said it was in my head.’ Unfortunately (Black) women are sometimes not taken seriously.

“Black women’s lives matter. They need to know that, and oftentimes they don’t feel that way… Black breasts matter.”

Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member for The Amsterdam News. Alvin A. Reid of the St. Louis American contributed to this report.