The National Medical Association, a national organization for African-American physicians, also supports early screening. Breast self-exam should begin as soon as a girl menstruates, McDonald says. The drop in deaths from colorectal cancers since the early 1990s is the second-biggest reason for the overall decline in cancer deaths among women. Yet black women continue to be at greater risk for this disease, with a reported 46.7 cases per 100,000 women for the period from 1987 to 1991, compared with a rate of 39.9 among white women. Currently, the ACS recommends that testing begin at age 50, but screening can start as early as age 21 for those with a family history of the disease.
Lung cancer is the third most common cancer among black females.
Unfortunately, lung cancer deaths among black women may grow, given that smoking rates among African-American teenagers have increased over the past 10 years, according to McDonald. If you do, quit. And if your partner or your teenagers smoke, consider asking them to stop, for your benefit as well as their own. Unfortunately, there is no screening test for lung cancer before symptoms develop, so proactive steps are the only option. Nevertheless, the incidence and mortality rates for cervical cancer are higher among black women than for white women.