any of the aforementioned causes breast cancer.
Age is just a number Aleathea Ince found a lump in her breast that didn’t go away. Her doctor dismissed it as fibroadenoma (a benign tumor commonly found in young women). Her instincts told her it was something more. Aleathea had a biopsy done. When she returned the following week (on her 29th birthday) for the results, she was told the lump was malignant. “When the doctor was giving me the rundown of what to do next I was totally glazed over. I was really trying to listen, but I just couldn’t focus on the conversation. I was just thinking about how I was going to tell my parents. And then I wandered around the city all day. I was really angry that all these other people get to be healthy. Everybody else was running around like nothing’s going on and today was very, very different for me.” Aleathea had a lumpectomy and had some lymph nodes removed and tested. The lymph nodes were cancerous as well. She spent the next four months in chemotherapy. She is now in radiation therapy for six weeks. The once ruggedly independent female had to have someone keep a close eye on her post-surgery, help her bathe, and remind her of medications. “I forgot my medication once and I was in agony for two days. It was bad. You don’t know what agony is like until you get there. It was horrible.” Many women under 40 tend to ignore signs of abnormalities in their breasts because they figure their age exempts them from cancer. The fact is women under 40 can indeed have breast cancer. Younger women tend to have denser breast, which makes it more difficult to detect a lump during a mammogram. Conducting self-breast exams can help a woman get an understanding of what her normal breast tissue feels like. She should look for signs such as a change in the shape of the breast, unusual discharge, and lumpy tissue. Younger women should also get a clinical breast exam every one to three years.
Is breast cancer a white woman’s disease? The fundraiser walks, billboards, and pamphlets seem to show the same thing. White females with crystal bald heads wearing pink and smiling proudly as they proclaim victory over breast
cancer. What about women of color? The fact is that women of color have a higher mortality rate of breast cancer than their white counterparts. According to the DC Cancer Consortium, the rate of breast cancer mortality in Ward 7 from 2004-2008 was 30.7 per 100,000 and 30.2 per 100,000 in Ward 8. The disparities are caused by many factors such as access to screening and treatment, transportation, and insurance coverage. But the disparities are not always racial. Dr. Lori Wilson, Assistant Professor of Oncology at Howard University, says the disparities can be behavioral. “Women, in general, can sometimes have a perception of what screening is. Screening can be painful. We can have different perceptions on what screening means and how often it should be done. There’s also a fear that having a breast cancer diagnosis is a death sentence which in actuality we know that’s not the case.” So how is the message about breast cancer being sent to women of color? Amari Pearson-Fields, Comprehensive Cancer Control Program Manager for the DC Department of Health says they are working hard to get the word out to all races and cultures. “We are committed to providing culturally sensitive health education materials and supporting culturally diverse community-based organizations throughout the city. For example, we have developed screening guideline cards that are tailored for African Americans, Hispanics, Ethiopians, Chinese, Africans (translated into French), and Koreans. These cards are available at various health care facilities and through the DC Comprehensive Cancer Control Program.” The DOH also launched the ASK ME program this past summer. The program works in collaboration with key organizations around the District that service uninsured and underinsured people to provide information about cancer awareness and the importance of screenings. A special thanks to Thelma Jones of the Smith Farm Center for Healing and Arts and Dr. Robert DeWitty, Oncologist at Howard University Hospital. For more information about breast cancer programs or to be connected to a patient navigator, contact the DC Cancer Consortium at 202-821-1920 or email info@ dccancerconsortium.org. Candace Y.A. Montague is a freelance writer in DC. ●
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