Additionally, Black women are more likely to have more aggressive breast cancers with a higher chance of recurrence.
Reach out to breast cancer advocacy groups for further support.
What Is Hypofractionated Radiation Therapy?
Verywell / Shideh Ghandeharizadeh
Radiation therapy is an important part of breast cancer treatment for most patients, Kalu says.
However, it’s important to note that not all radiation therapy is the same.
With these fewer sessions, patients experience fewer side effects, such as fatigue and loss of appetite.
The study found that hypofractionation was just as effective andless costly compared to conventional radiation therapy.
However, the treatment appears to lag behind for certain populations, especially for Black women.
They told me to come back in six months to a year or when I was 40.
If did that I would be dead today."
Karmo, who is Black, returned to her doctor six months later and pushed for a biopsy.
The biopsy revealed that Karmo had stage 2 breast cancer.
She was only 32 years old.
Even after a diagnosis, recent research finds more Black women delay initiating treatment compared to White women.
“It can be a hostile environment, in which youre talked down to or dismissed.”
Karmo says doctors tend to avoid mentioning clinical trial participation to Black women diagnosed with breast cancer.
“Also, if youre going for a second or third opinion, thats lost wages.
If youre losing money, who’s going to feed your children?”
It will take a multifaceted approach to fix a complex problem such as healthcare disparities in breast cancer.
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Thomas Jefferson University.Not all patients are offered the same effective breast cancer treatment.
2007;97(7):1283-1289. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2005.080762
Biography.com.Henrietta lacks biography.
American Bar Association.Implicit bias and racial disparities in health care.
2016;34(22):2610-2618. doi:10.1200/jco.2015.66.0019
