According to the American Cancer Society (2022), “At every age, Black women are more likely to die from breast cancer than any other race or ethnic group.” In part, this is due to Black women being more prone to triple-negative breast cancer (The American Cancer Society, 2022). Furthermore, Hendrick et al. (2021) explains that “among women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer… minority women [are] 72% more likely to be diagnosed under the age of 51.”
You Are Not Alone
Dawn Barker-Pierre wanted a mammogram and was denied because she was “too young” (Stoodley, 2023). Two years later, she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer. The American Cancer Society (2022) notes that 1 in 5 Black women are diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer. However, Barker-Pierre’s story doesn’t end here. Now, she started a petition to drop the age for preventative mammograms from 50 to 40 in Canada (Stoodley, 2023). You can learn more about Dawn Barker-Pierre HERE
Remember, H4TG is here for you. Please feel free to reach out to us at support@hereforthegirls.org or by phone at 757-645-2649 at any extension!
References
The American Cancer Society. (2022). Breast cancer statistics: How common is breast cancer? Breast Cancer Statistics | How Common Is Breast Cancer? Retrieved April 24, 2023, from https://www.cancer.org/cancer/breast-cancer/about/how-common-is-breast-cancer.html
Hendrick, R. E., Monticciolo, D. L., Biggs, K. W., & Malak, S. F. (2021). Age distributions of breast cancer diagnosis and ... - Wiley Online Library. American Cancer Society. Retrieved April 24, 2023, from https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/cncr.33846
Stoodley, C. (2023). Ontario Breast Cancer Survivor Advocates for earlier screenings: 'life or death'. Yahoo! Retrieved April 24, 2023, from https://ca.style.yahoo.com/ontario-breast-cancer-survivor-advocate-younger-screenings-190035208.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAE5SXj0khr51mqb367wY39Pon_mK_sTmFA19EANN9-EbilGbYg-BHZcz0cdYHDUvgnC2LajVafpR8FNy-FsMmxUxx8uhORI-6kJdLT_UuzAZ2q7fzLY_I4_jgsOk_k-bPXk4EeGvPrj0mClZoeUqPRtPfKdJdBhDcmm-6Q1ECwIg&guccounter=2