FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Get Down for Brown – Breast Cancer Awareness and Funding for Women of Color
OAKLAND, California (February 21, 2012) – Black women seeking information, education or assistance with breast cancer treatments have a new resource, launched just this week. Deborrah Cooper, broadcast journalist, blogger and relationships columnist, was motivated to create "Get Down for Brown" after learning of The Susan G. Komen Foundation's plan to cut funding to Planned Parenthood. She charged breast cancer awareness organizations with ignoring Black women’s urgent need for early detection to curtail death rates 60 percent higher than Whites, since, according to Ms. Cooper, "Planned Parenthood serves as the primary vehicle by which thousands of low-income women of color receive life-saving breast and cervical cancer screenings; therefore, the racial implications of their decision were unavoidable." The goal for Get Down for Brown is to serve as a key source of information for women of color, providing information on nutrition, clinical trials, financial assistance with mammograms and treatment, research studies, and survivor stories.
Citing statistics from the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health (“Cancer Health Disparities”), Ms. Cooper criticized the Susan G. Komen Foundation for failing to emphasize the difference in cancer death rates suffered by Black women in its ‘awareness’ campaigns. “Too many women of color are dying from breast cancer in the United States. Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer found in Black women, with estimates of 27,000 new cases diagnosed this year alone.” Focusing on the needs of African American women is especially important in light of recent findings that black women under the age of 40 are more likely to develop the most aggressive type of breast tumors—basal-type or triple-negative—cancers which are more likely to be resistant to standard cancer treatment.
Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), although Caucasian women have the highest rate of breast cancer cases, African American women aged 45 to 64 are much more likely to suffer breast cancer fatalities than Whites. Black women die from breast cancer at a rate 60 percent higher than White women (56.8 versus 35.6 deaths, respectively, per 100,000 people, per year. Statistics were gathered from the CDC’s National Vital Statistics System: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss.htm). Research has shown that there are many factors which contribute to the development of breast cancer such as cigarette smoking, poor dietary nutrition, obesity, environmental toxins, and heredity. However, Ms. Cooper believes that unequal access to the latest technology due to a lack of health insurance and low socioeconomic status are two primary issues in the breast cancer mortality rate of African American females:
"Breast cancer screening can save the lives of hundreds of Black women annually," said Ms. Cooper, "and these frightening death rates mean that early detection is mandatory for African American females. Monthly breast exams at home and regular mammograms are the best tools we have to discover breast cancer while there is still time to do something about it." Though the most common sign of breast cancer is a new lump or tenderness, in its early stages, a woman with breast cancer may not experience symptoms. Reasons to consult a medical professional immediately would include.
(a) swelling of all or part of the breast
(b) skin irritation or dimpling
(c) pain in the breast or nipple
(d) thickening of the nipple or breast
(e) a discharge from the nipple unrelated to nursing
“Breast cancer awareness organizations have the power and money to impact these horrific statistics, yet they are failing miserably. With tens of millions of dollars donated annually to awareness and the supposed goal of finding a cure, why is more not being done to save the lives of the demographic with the highest breast cancer death rate in the nation?"
Plans are underway to align Get Down for Brown with the fundraising efforts of both national and local breast cancer programs that provide services to Black women. The pink ribbon seen as synonymous with breast cancer awareness has been replaced by a snazzy tri-colored ribbon that reflects the many skin hues of Black and Brown women.
Log onto http://www.getdownforbrown.com for more information.
Contact
Candace Williams
Marketing and Production Assistant
(510) 868-1942
# # #
Comments