The rate of cancers that have already spread far beyond the breast when they are discovered has stayed stable for decades, suggesting that screening and early detection are not preventing the most unsafe forms of the disease.
Advertisement
The American Cancer Society has released new guidelines for breast cancer screening. “In 1970s, around five out of 10 women diagnosed with breast cancer survived, now it’s more than eight out of 10, with nearly two out of three women now surviving beyond 20 years of the initial diagnosis, according to cancer research in developed countries”, Dr Lotz added.
A report of the American Cancer Society showed that breast cancer is on the rise among black women in the United States.
Mortality rates continued to be higher in black women than in white women, despite historically lower incidence rates among black women. The median age for breast cancer death is 62 for black women and 68 for white women.
WMC Action News 5’s Andrew Douglas donated $500 to breast cancer research on behalf of everyone who participated in his “Pink Tie Project”.
In 2012, the breast cancer death rate was 42 percent higher in black women than white women and the trend seems to continue even now. And obesity rates are more in black women and have been growing more dramatically.
The study was published October 29 in the journal BMC Medicine.
Dr Welch said: ‘Screening mammography has been unable to identify those bad cancers, destined to become metastatic, at an earlier stage.
Advertisement
“I think it’s because we don’t get checked like we should”, Greene said. Understand the benefits, risks, and limitations of breast cancer screening. With these odds stacked against us, we must always remember that there are steps we can take to avoid cancer as much as we can. Women who began their menstrual periods before age 12 or began menopause after age 55 are at increased risk, as are women who have used long-term hormone replacement therapy. Share your family history and personal medical history to determine whether you are at average risk or higher risk for breast cancer. Many black women in Memphis simply can not afford the doctor’s visits, the mammogram costs or even the time off from work to see those specialists.
