A new report finds black women with breast cancer have lower survival rates than their white counterparts. Researchers have long known of the disparity but the reasons for the differences have not been widely studied. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that black women often have differences in tumor stage and size, as well as other health problems that exacerbate their cancers. Their five-year survival rate is 56 percent compared with 69 percent for white women, according to the research.
Col. Christopher Gallagher, chief of Hematology and Oncology at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, says despite the equal access to care offered by the military, researchers at Walter Reed have even found disparities among black and white women when it comes to treatment. Dr. Gallagher says “there must be reasons other than access to care that need to be studied.” Socioeconomic and cultural differences may be factors, he says. For example, some women may forego their own health to provide care for other family members, thus delaying detection and treatment.
Additionally, Gallagher says breast cancer may act very differently in black women than in whites. He says as researchers “look at breast cancer on a molecular level, the cancers may be different. We know breast cancer is a very heterogeneous disease, but our treatments are more homogeneous than the disease that we’re trying to treat.” In layman’s terms, a “one size fits all” approach to treating breast cancer may not work.
Although some guidelines have suggested that screening mammography and self-examinations of the breast are not necessary for women below age 50, Gallagher says “it’s hard to tell women who have had early stage breast cancers detected by mammograms or self-examination that they are not necessary.” Gallagher says self-exams and screening mammograms, as recommended by the American Cancer Society, are the most important things women can do to be proactive about their health. He also urges women to control other risk factors that can harm their overall health, like controlling their weight and avoiding excessive alcohol intake.
Visit Health.mil for more women’s health resources and follow the Military Health System on
Facebook and
Twitter for more preventive health information.