Many African American women assume breast cancer is relegated only to white women. Although it is true that not as many African American women are diagnosed with breast cancer, twice as many African American women as white women die from the disease. It only takes 15 minutes to perform a self-examination, but it can actually save your life.
Many women find their own lumps by doing a breast self-exam.
If you have breast cancer, It is important that you empower yourself by learning as much as possible about the surgical procedure or treatment you physician has scheduled for you. The more you know the better off you will be in making choices that could affect the rest of your life. Although some medical institutions say you should wait until you are 40 years old to have a mammogram, many African American women develop breast cancer much earlier. Some have been diagnosed with the disease in their early 20s. Your fathers, husbands, brothers and sons are also subject to breast cancer.