Experts point to several possible explanations. There are some individual factors. There are some societal factors. Cultural differences Cultural beliefs often shape women s willingness to do self-exams and get screenings. Some women come from cultures that consider it inappropriate for women to touch or look at their own breasts, said Sandra Millon Underwood, PhD, RN, FAAN, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Nursing who researches cancer prevention in relation to minority populations.
Fatalistic attitudes play a part, too.
Many black women believe that breast cancer inevitably ends in a mastectomy and death, Underwood said, so they re less likely to get screened or examine themselves. In addition, minority women are less likely to be well-educated, so they may be more vulnerable to fear and superstition, say cancer experts. Mont. In general, women with lower educational levels neglect preventive activities such as annual well-woman exams, said Alice F. Judkins, RN, a nurse in breast surgical oncology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Poverty also plays a role, and nonwhite women are more likely to be poor. Getting a mammogram is often the last thing on the mind of a woman who can t even afford health insurance.