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New study in Journal of the American College of Surgeons finds large disparities in care, treatment compared with caucasian women

CHICAGO (May 4, 2009) – New research published in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that dramatic disparities in breast cancer outcomes continue to exist for African-American women, regardless of the age at which they are diagnosed, extent of the cancer, type of treatment or socioeconomic status. The study represents the largest population-based analysis of breast cancer outcomes data to date, including more than 60,000 patients in the state of Florida.

Although government programs to improve access to breast cancer screening and treatment have been in place for nearly two decades, African-American women continue to suffer a high breast cancer mortality rate, even though the incidence of breast cancer in this population is lower than in Caucasian women.

The research indicates that breast cancer outcomes for African-American women might be improved by lowering the recommended age of initial screening from 40 years to 33 years, the age at which the percentage of African-American women who develop breast cancer is similar to the percentage of Caucasian women in whom the disease develops under 40 years of age.

“Current screening guidelines are not sufficient in detecting breast cancer in African-American patients because the disease has already developed in over 10 percent of these women by age 40,” said Leonidas G. Koniaris, MD, FACS, Surgical Oncology DeWitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine. “However, even with earlier diagnosis, our analysis uncovered serious socioeconomic barriers that prevent many African-American women with breast cancer from receiving the latest, most specific treatments.”

The analysis identified 63,472 patients with invasive breast cancer using the Florida Cancer Data System and data from the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration. Overall, 90.5 percent of patients were Caucasian and 7.6 percent were African American. More than half of the study population (59.4 percent) lived at or below 10 percent of the federal poverty level, according to the 2007 United States Census Bureau report. Five-year survival was calculated from the time of initial diagnosis to the date of last contact or death.

African-American patients presented with breast cancer at a younger age and a more advanced stage, with approximately 72.1 percent of African-American women diagnosed before the age of 65, in comparison with 50.3 percent among Caucasian women (p<0.001). Whereas the majority (68 percent) of Caucasian women were diagnosed with disease that had not spread beyond the breast, only 52.4 percent of African-American women presented with localized disease. Metastatic disease was seen nearly twice as often in African-American women when compared with Caucasian women (5.9 percent versus 3.1 percent; p<0.001). Overall, African-American women had a significantly lower overall five-year survival rate compared with Caucasian women (68.6 versus 79.4 percent, p<0.001). Upon diagnosis, African-American patients were less likely than Caucasian patients to undergo surgical therapy. Furthermore, among those patients who did undergo surgical therapy, survival rates for African-American women were still considerably lower than for Caucasian women. Similarly, African-American patients who received nonsurgical therapy (e.g., chemotherapy) had a lower rate of survival compared with Caucasian patients who received similar treatments. A stepwise multivariate analysis revealed a significant decrease in the risk of death observed for African-American patients upon adjustment for stage of presentation, suggesting that disparities in breast cancer outcomes are, in part, a result of advanced stage at diagnosis. Researchers also identified socioeconomic status as an independent predictor of poor breast cancer outcomes. Patients in the lowest socioeconomic status category (>15 percent living under the federal poverty level) were diagnosed with higher rates of metastatic disease (4.1 percent vs. 2.8 percent; p<0.001) than patients in the higher-income categories. Patients of low socioeconomic status were treated less frequently with surgical therapy. Five-year survival was statistically decreased as poverty level increased for all types of treatment, whether surgical or nonsurgical.

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About the American College of Surgeons

The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and to improve the care of the surgical patient. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 74,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world. For more information, visit www.facs.org.

Showing your support for breast cancer awareness on your piggies can be a fun and fashionable way to express yourself. A lovely pink ribbon pedicure is the perfect way to show your support in the fight for a cure. You can create your own DIY pink ribbon pedicure for breast cancer awareness in the comfort of your home, quickly and easily with a few materials and a few helpful instructions.

If you would like to know how to create a pretty pink ribbon pedicure, you are in luck! No matter if you are a beginner or an expert at DIY nail designs, you can create your own pink ribbon pedicure at home with a few nail painting supplies and some patience.

How to create your own DIY Pink Ribbon Pedicure and Nail Art Designs

Our pink ribbon pedicure starts with a French pedicure. In case you aren’t familiar with how to do your own French pedicure, we’ll include those steps in our DIY instructions. First, though, we’ll fill you in on the most
important materials you will need to create your pink ribbon breast cancer awareness pedicure.

Materials for Pink Ribbon Pedicures:
- Nude or pale pink nail polish
- White nail polish or white nail art pen
- Pink nail art pen (dark pink or hot pink)

(If a nail art pen is not available, you can use a tiny paintbrush or a toothpick to create your pink ribbon pedicure designs.)

DIY Nail Design Instructions for Pink Ribbon Pedicure:
To create your own pretty pink ribbon pedicure for breast cancer awareness month or any time of year, follow these steps:

DIY French Pedicure as a Base for Pink Ribbon Nail Art Designs
The first step is to do a French pedicure as a base for your pink ribbon nail art designs. If you know how to do your own French pedicure, do so and then skip down to the steps for adding pink ribbon nail art designs to your nails. If you are unfamiliar with French pedicures, see below:

1. Paint all of your toenails with a very pale pink or nude nail polish.

2. Allow them to dry and paint a second coat using the same base color.

3. Determine if a third coat is necessary. Apply and let dry if needed.

4. Once your nails are dry, paint just the tip of each nail white. You can use a white nail art pen for precision or if a nail art pen is not available, simply use the nail polish brush, a tiny paintbrush, or even a toothpick.

*Tip:* If you find that you have a hard time making a straight line across your nails, you can give yourself a guide using a piece of paper taped around your toe or some kind of label, tape, or sticker that won’t peel up your base coat. Some nail kits include guides you can apply for flawless French manicures and pedicures.

5. Allow your nails to dry completely before moving onto the next steps.

DIY Pink Ribbon Nail Art Designs for Breast Cancer Awareness
Adding pink ribbon nail art designs to your manicure or pedicure gives a classy and worthy look to your nails. While this tutorial is for a pink ribbon pedicure, you can easily apply the same techniques to your fingernails so that you can enjoy a pink ribbon manicure as well or instead.

Click below to view these valuable resources.

Breast cancer in men.

Wikipedia

Source

BARCELONA, Spain – Up to a third of breast cancer cases in Western countries could be avoided if women ate less and exercised more, researchers at a conference said Thursday, renewing a sensitive debate about how lifestyle factors affect the disease.

Black women in the United States are less likely to get breast cancer than white women, but they’re also more likely to die from it — a fact that researchers increasingly believe has at least as much to do with biology as with access to health care and screening tools like mammography. Read more