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As October marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month, studies are coming up highlighting how important it is for us, women of color, to start getting checked for the disease. A new Avon Foundation For Women study’s data shows that black women are 43 percent more likely to die from breast cancer compared to white women.
Between 2010 and 2014, black women mortality to breast cancer was 30.7 deaths per 100,000 women and for white women, it was 21.4 deaths per 100,000 women.
“Avon Foundation recognized early on that there was a significant need to understand these racial disparities in order to focus efforts and resources where they are most needed,” said Cheryl Heinonen, President of the Avon Foundation for Women.
“As the company for women, Avon puts women at the center of everything we do. This is part of our DNA, our history, and our legacy to empower women and improve the quality of life of women. And this requires collaboration at all levels.”
Lack of education in the black community is likely to blame when it comes to black women experiencing higher rates of late detection, late stage diagnosis, and delay treatment. It’s important to not when these stages have been reached, your mortality rates grow dramatically.
So all my beautiful women out there, please start getting tested and start educating ourselves about this disease. For more information about breast cancer you can go here.
