Black Women Often Refuse Breast Cancer Treatment
African Americans More Likely to Turn Down Chemotherapy or Radiation
May 22, 2009
Breast cancer statistics show that one out of every eight American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in her life. These numbers are even higher in African-American populations, and a new study shows that black women are far more likely than white women to refuse treatment and cancer therapy that could save their lives.
African American Women and Breast Cancer
A new study, conducted by researchers at the Emory University School of Medicine, considered breast cancer patients diagnosed and treated at an inner city hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, between 2000 and 2006. Researchers found that, of 107 breast cancer patients, approximately 87% were African American women.
Triple negative tumors, the most challenging type of breast cancer to treat, made up 29% of the cases. Triple negative tumors are least likely to respond to early treatment and the most likely to progress to stage 3 breast cancer.
One in Four Black Women Refuse Treatment
Dr. Monica Rizzo, the lead researcher on the Emory University Study, says, "We found in this study on locally advanced breast cancer, mainly done in black women, that almost a quarter of the patients [refused] chemotherapy and radiation therapy that are the standard of care for stage 3 breast cancer." Of black women offered chemotherapy, 20.5% refused, while 26.3% refused radiation.
The study's report, published in the July 1, 2009 edition of Cancer, concludes that African American women are more likely than any other population to refuse treatment for advanced stages of breast cancer – although the researchers weren't certain why. According to Rizzo, "We looked at martial status as well as religious background of those women and, unfortunately, we were not able to find any clear identifier."
Socioeconomic Factors, Finances, and Breast Cancer Mortality Rates
Rizzo and the other researchers could only speculate about the reasons that African American women might be more likely to refuse breast cancer treatment. Is it socioeconomic factors? Is it worry about how they will pay for medical treatment? Is it fear and lack of education about the treatment options and success rates? Or were these women exploring other options like alternative cancer treatments?
It's been suggested that black women are more likely to present with advanced breast cancer because tumors aren't diagnosed early enough in this population. Rizzo suggests that hospitals need to "educate more women and dispel some fears that they can have about cancer and cancer treatment. And encourage them to have yearly mammograms to catch cancers at an earlier stage, when the cancer is more curable."
Education is good, but it may not be the whole story. Statistics show that African American women are more likely than any other population to die from breast cancer – not because cancers are found later, or because they refuse treatment, but simply because these women are susceptible to deadlier forms of breast cancer.
In 2006, MSNBC and the Associated Press reported that breast cancer is less common in black women than white women – but far more likely to end in death, since many black women have unique forms of breast cancer that don't respond to conventional treatments.
Could these statistics have influenced the patients who refused medical treatment in the new study? We may never know, since the women weren't surveyed for the reasons behind their choices – at least, not in this study. The new study also failed to discuss how many of the patients diagnosed or treated survived beyond the critical 5-year period after diagnosis.
Sources
- Associated Press, "Black women prone to deadlier breast cancer," MSNBC.com, 7 June 2006.
- Forbes, "Many Black Women Refuse Breast Cancer Treatments," Forbes.com, 22 May 2009.
- Science Daily, "African American Women With Advanced Breast Cancer Often Forego Vital Treatment," ScienceDaily.com, 22 May 2009.
- Sevigny, Dan, "Prevent Breast Cancer," AlternativeHealthJournal.com, 20 May 2009.
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