Mammograms are a Woman’s Best Friend
OCT 23, 2023Annual mammograms and clinical breast exams are the best defense against cancer for all women, since they help detect cancer at the earliest stage, when it is easiest to treat.
Read MoreNo one should give up four years. But that’s the gap between the average life expectancy for non-Hispanic/Black Americans compared to White Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control.3
As an African American physician, the disparities in health and health care for people of color hits close to home. It’s a complex issue I see in my practice as a family physician who also provides obstetrics/birth and women’s health care.
For example, Black, American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, according to a report from the CDC.1
Several factors contribute to this risk, including high blood pressure, obesity, cardiomyopathy, and pulmonary embolism. They were found to be associated with a higher share of pregnancy-related deaths among Black women compared to White women from 2007 to 2016.
What makes this particularly heartbreaking is that most pregnancy deaths are preventable. It’s important as providers raise awareness about these disparities while widening access to quality care for preconception, pregnancy and postpartum care. There is some good news mixed in with this challenging issue. For example, the death rate primarily for those African Americans age 65 and older has declined 25% over 17 years, which means they are living longer.2
But younger African Americans -- those in their 20, 30s and 40s -- are being diagnosed with and dying of conditions typically found in older White Americans, according to the CDC.2 Compared to White Americans, non-Hispanic Black Americans are:
Preventive care can go a long way to turning these disparities around. We know that, compared with White Americans, members of racial and ethnic minorities are less likely to receive preventive health services. They also have worse health outcomes for some conditions.
That’s why I regularly talk to my patients about the importance of preventive care, regardless of whether they are Hispanic, Black, Asian or White. It’s still the best way to prevent or manage serious illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and cancers.
Seeing your provider regularly and talking about the timing of preventive screenings, particularly if you are a person of color, is a key step in protecting your health for years to come.
1 https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/wr/mm6835a3.htm
2 https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/aahealth/index.html
3 https://www.cdc.gov/healthequity/racism-disparities/index.html
Annual mammograms and clinical breast exams are the best defense against cancer for all women, since they help detect cancer at the earliest stage, when it is easiest to treat.
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