The Survival Rates Of Breast Cancer - 1373 Words

Breast Cancer is the most common misfortune in women and second leading cause of death by cancer. Today, woman with breast cancer have a 90% chance of surviving for five years post-diagnosis. However, African American women have a national survival rate of 79%. Socioeconomic barriers and lack of access to health services have crippled African American women in breast cancer advancements. Studies have show that African American women tend to be diagnosed with a higher-stage of cancer because of the delay of being tested until it is late in the stage. African American women in contrast to their white counterparts generally have a more aggressive stage of breast cancer and therefore a shorter survival rate. These startling statistics bring†¦show more content†¦Much advancement has been made for the treatment of breast cancer, yet the object of the matter is its utilization. â€Å" Lack of recommendation for screening mammography, poor access to health care and cultural beliefs discouraging women from seeking care for a potential breast problem have each been linked to disparate breast cancer outcomes between African American and White women.† (American Association for Cancer Research) Even though race-based disparities have been explored in breast cancer outcomes, direct evidence linking these disparities to social injustice is deficient. Few studies have been reported examining the correlation between breast cancer disparities and racial discrimination. Yet, there are evident reasons to suspect that racial prejudice contributes to the African American disparities in breast cancer mortality. Studies have suggested that social injustice maybe be linked to unequal access of breast cancer treatment. Caplan et al. reported that, â€Å"African American women had greater difficulty scheduling follow-up appointments than did White women, which resulted in delays in breast cancer diagnosis.† (AACR) This utilization of treatments illustrates a drasti c and distant mortality rate overtime between White and African American women.