Breast Cancer

Minority Women's Health > African Americans > Health Topics > Breast Cancer

Women get breast cancer when cells in the breast don't grow right and a tumor forms. Getting a mammogram (x-ray of the breast) can help find the cancer early. This gives a woman more treatment options and makes it more likely she will survive the cancer.

African American women are more likely than all other women to die from breast cancer. Tumors are found at a later, more advanced, stage so there are fewer treatment options. Some reasons for this may include not being able to get health care or not following-up after getting abnormal test results. Other reasons may include distrust of the health care system, the belief that mammograms are not needed, or not having insurance.

We do not know how to prevent breast cancer. But there are things you can do to reduce your risk, such as keeping a healthy weight and limiting how much alcohol you drink.

There are things you can do to find breast cancer early:

Get a mammogram. It is the best way to find out if you have breast cancer. A mammogram is an x-ray picture of the breast. It can find breast cancer that is too small for you or your doctor to feel. All women starting at age 40 should get a mammogram every one to two years. Talk to your doctor about how often you need a mammogram. If your mother or sister had breast cancer, you may need to start getting mammograms earlier.

A breast self-exam and a clinical breast exam are not substitutes for mammograms.

Get a clinical breast exam. This is a breast exam done by your doctor or nurse. She or he will check your breasts and underarms for any lumps, nipple discharge, or other changes. The breast exam should be part of a routine check up.

Get to know your breasts. You may do monthly breast self-exams to check for any changes in your breasts. If you find a change, see your doctor right away.

The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) program provides free or low-cost breast cancer testing to women who don't have health insurance. To learn more about this program, please contact the CDC at 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636).

Publications

Breast Cancer: A Resource Guide for Minority Women - The Office of Minority Health Resource Center has compiled a list of organizations, documents, journal articles, and other resources relevant to people affected by breast cancer including patients, health professionals, students, and researchers.
http://www.omhrc.gov/assets/pdf/checked/bcrg2005.pdf
Screening Mammograms: Questions and Answers - This fact sheet explains how screening mammograms differ from diagnostic mammograms and explains in clear language the benefits and limitations of screening mammography. This also gives the National Cancer Institute's recommendations for when a woman should begin and how frequently she should continue having screening mammograms.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Detection/screening-mammograms
Understanding Breast Changes: A Health Guide for all Women - This booklet explains how doctors distinguish breast lumps and other normal breast changes that often occur and are confused with breast cancer. It encourages women to get regular screening mammograms and clinical breast exams.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/understanding-breast-changes/allpages
What You Need To Know About™ Breast Cancer - This booklet provides valuable information about breast cancer. It discusses possible causes, screening, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. Additionally, this booklet offers women with breast cancer information on how to cope with the disease.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancerinfo/wyntk/breast
Younger Black Women Develop a More Lethal Type of Breast Cancer - This fact sheet describes the disparities in breast cancer prevalence and death rate between premenopausal African American women and white women. It also describes disparities between premenopausal and post menopausal African American women.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/prevention-genetics-causes/breast/aarisk
African Americans and Breast Cancer (Copyright © AACHAC) - This fact sheet from the African American Community Health Advisory Committee lists statistics about breast cancer relevant to African Americans and tips for what you can do.
http://www.aachac.org/healthfactsheets/breast_cancer.html
Breast Cancer Racial and Ethnic Differences (Copyright © Susan G. Komen Foundation) - Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among women in the United States. It is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among nearly every racial and ethnic group, including African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic/Latina women. The rates of developing and dying from the disease differ among ethnic groups, and this publication discusses these differences.
http://cms.komen.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/komen_document/spbcethnic.p...
Cancer Facts and Figures for African Americans 2007-2008 (Copyright © ACS) - This publication estimates the number of new cancer cases and deaths of African Americans and provides the most recent statistics on cancer incidence, mortality, and five-year relative survival. It also includes sections on cancer risk factors such as tobacco use, physical activity, and the use of cancer screening examinations.
http://www.cancer.org/downloads/STT/CAFF2007AAacspdf2007.pdf
Facts and Statistics About Breast Cancer in the United States: Year 2008 (Copyright © NBCC) - This fact sheet identifies trends and highlights important statistics on the occurrence of breast cancer in the United States for the year 2008.
http://www.stopbreastcancer.org//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&i...

Organizations

= Indicates Federal Resources

Current as of December 2007