Statistics show that more black women are dying from breast cancer than white women. Experts fear that this is happening since in the previous years the breast cancer incidence rate is greater in white women.
American Cancer Society recently released a report that reveals how the incidence of black women being diagnosed with breast cancer is now at the same rate with white women. Research also shows that black women have 42 percent chance of dying from it.
The outcome of the study came from the nine parts of the country's historical data from cancer case registries. 9 percent of the US population was represented by the study.
In 2002, the probability of having cancer for white women was 132 and 124 for black. After ten years, a report in 2012 showed that the rate for both black and white women met at about 135 cases per 100,000 women. Breast cancer death rates decreased by 36 percent from 1989 to 2012 which shows that around 249,000 U.S. breast cancer deaths have been prevented from that time period until today.
Researchers haven't found out the exact reason of the incidence, yet had proposed some theories that could explain the reports. Researchers believe that obesity has a lot to do with it. Studies show that obesity is associated with higher risk of having breast cancer. Obesity rates in black women are relatively high and continue to rise. Some data gathered by the experts show that the seven states where breast cancer rates in black women are higher than the white are in the South areas where there is a higher rate of obesity.
Another reason to blame is genetics. A study conducted in 2013 reported that black women were more likely to get sick and suffer from other illnesses other than breast cancer. The availability of and access to health care could also be one critical factor to consider since most of black women were checked at a later stage of breast cancer and weren't given the best available treatment.
