MyBlack^® Health

African-American women often lack access to breast cancer screenings

Source: Peoria Journal Star

PEORIA — African-American and rural women will be targeted for breast health education and screening after the results of a Komen for the Cure study. "We found that in our 10-county service area - and in the Tri-County Area in particular - African-American women are dying of breast cancer at a much greater rate than their Caucasian counterparts," said Gayle Young, mission director of the Peoria Memorial Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The reason is that many African-American women appear to be diagnosed at a much later stage, when the cancer has advanced beyond the breast area. "At stage three or four, treatment options are limited and the chances of success are greatly reduced," Young said. "When they're diagnosed at stage one, they have a 98 percent survival rate; at each step the survival rate lessens, and at stage three and four, it drops dramatically." Young said the Peoria affiliate is required to do a needs assessment every two years to look at what its main focus should be and where the money should be spent. The 10 counties in the Komen service area include Peoria, Tazewell, Woodford, Marshal, Stark, Knox, Fulton, McDonough, Hancock and Mason. Because Peoria is urban and has a more diverse population, most of the African-American women seem to be concentrated here.

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