A recent study has confirmed that when physicians and caregivers are not culturally sensitive when communicating with economically disadvantaged African-American women, those health professionals may in fact be discouraging the women from getting their annual screening mammograms.
The study, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, confirmed that African-American women, when they go to a healthcare facility, often perceive the caregivers as being disrespectful or as giving inadequate or incomplete explanations about mammography screenings. The study went on to say that these women are also concerned that, should they ever be diagnosed with breast cancer, they wouldn't receive correct and needed treatment anyway.
The end result of all this is that these women are not bothering to get their mammograms—a calamity that needs fixing. African-American women have a 35 percent higher mortality rate from breast cancer than do Caucasian women. (In Chicago, as a matter of fact, their mortality rate is 73 percent higher!)
If you know of someone not getting their annual mammogram, for whatever reason, please help educate them about the value of screening mammography for early identification of breast cancer, so more women can survive this disease. In most cases, we can save their life (as well as their breasts.)
Most states offer free screening mammograms, too, so lack of insurance is no longer a barrier for getting the proper screening needed.
Tell me your take on this issue.
The study, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, confirmed that African-American women, when they go to a healthcare facility, often perceive the caregivers as being disrespectful or as giving inadequate or incomplete explanations about mammography screenings. The study went on to say that these women are also concerned that, should they ever be diagnosed with breast cancer, they wouldn't receive correct and needed treatment anyway.
The end result of all this is that these women are not bothering to get their mammograms—a calamity that needs fixing. African-American women have a 35 percent higher mortality rate from breast cancer than do Caucasian women. (In Chicago, as a matter of fact, their mortality rate is 73 percent higher!)
If you know of someone not getting their annual mammogram, for whatever reason, please help educate them about the value of screening mammography for early identification of breast cancer, so more women can survive this disease. In most cases, we can save their life (as well as their breasts.)
Most states offer free screening mammograms, too, so lack of insurance is no longer a barrier for getting the proper screening needed.
Tell me your take on this issue.
