Download Why is breast cancer a disparity?

By Peggy Kusi and Mercy Frimpong
1
 Cancer
is the loss of ability of the body’s
cells to regulate controlled and orderly
growth.
 Breast
Cancer is the formation of abnormal
cells in the breast tissue.
Normal(left)
cancerous
2

A health disparity is a
health condition or
disease that is higher
for one group than
the general
population.
What is a disparity?
African American
women have higher
mortality rate than
other women of
different races.
 In other words African
American women die
more from breast
cancer.

Why is breast cancer a
disparity?
3





“Studies suggest that this disparity is due to African
American women being diagnosed with breast cancer at a
later stage, and receiving treatment later after diagnosis”
(http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/healthdisparities/what_cdc_
is_doing/aamm.htm)
Black women are more likely to die from this cancer more
than other races.
Breast cancer is mostly common in White women but
African Americans tend to die more from it more.
Black women have a 37% higher death rate than white
women.
The five-year survival rate for breast cancer is 90% in
white women and only 77% for black women.
4
 Age
 Weight
 Diet
and lifestyle
 Menstrual and
Reproductive
 Family and
personal history
Nipple discharge
 Bone pain
 Breast pain and
discomfort
 Skin ulcers
 Swelling of the
arm with the side
of the developing
cancer
 Weight loss

5
stage
Size of tumor
Lymph nodes
have cancer
Metastases
0
In situ
No
No
I
<2cm
No
No
IIA
2 to 5cm
Possible
No
IIB
2 to 5 cm
>5cm
Yes
No
No
IIIA
>5 cm but
hasn’t reached
the chest wall
Yes
No
IIIB
>5cm and may
have reached
the chest wall
or skin
Yes
No
IV
Any size
Yes
Yes
6
7
8
Mammogram
Ultrasound
Fine-needle aspiration
Core needle biopsy
Fine-needle aspiration
Excisional biopsy
Incisional biopsy
9
The graph shows that White
women have a higher
screening percentage than
Black, Asian, Hispanic.
10
Female Breast Cancer Mortality Rates by Race and
Ethnicity in Massachusetts:2003-2005
√
The graph shows the
mortality rate
√
In African Americans/Black
of female breast cancer.
11
12
 Lack
of medical coverage
 Barriers
to early detection and screening
 Unequal
access to improvements in cancer
treatment may contribute to the survival
rate between African American women and
White women.
13
 Chemotherapy
 Radiation
therapy
 Surgery to remove the tumor from the
affected site
14
 Eating
a healthy diet
 Losing extra weight
 Regular exercise
 Reducing alcohol use
 Quitting smoking
15
 Increasing
knowledge about breast cancer
and mammography.
 Increasing
awareness
 Increasing
awareness of the low or no-cost
mammogram services.

Increasing the number of women who get a
mammogram.
16
17
 In
conclusion African American women have a
higher mortality rate than the general
population mainly because of late prognosis
 Ways
to help the African American
community is to educate to community about
the awareness of breast cancer and the
importance of examinations.
18
http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/nbccedp/data/sum
maries/massachusetts.htm
 http://www.statehealthfacts.org/
 http://www.mass.gov/dph/masschip
 http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/AboutBreast-Cancer/Stages.aspx
 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19320967
 http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/
disparities/cancer-health-disparities
 http://www.cancer.org/cancer/breastcancer/de
tailedguide/breast-cancer-what-is-breast-cancer

19
http://komen.healthology.com/breastcancer/article3490.htm
 http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/healthdisparities/w
hat_cdc_is_doing/aamm.htm
 http://fbhc.org/Patients/BetterHealth/BreastCa
ncer/home.html
 http://www.bestiary.com/ibc/
 http://history.nih.gov/exhibits/genetics/sect2d.
htm
 http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/bre
astcancer.htm

20