Although the incidence of breast cancer among African American women is low, the death rates are twice as high for all stages of cancer diagnosis when compared to white women. Thus, breast cancer remains the second leading cancer killer among African American women. An estimated 182,800 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed among women this year, and 40,800 women will die of this disease. Approximately 43,000 women died of breast cancer in 1999. African American Women and Breast Cancer Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death for Black women.
White women are more likely to develop breast cancer, Black women are less likely to survive it.
African American breast cancer patients are younger when they are diagnosed and are more likely to be diagnosed with more advanced stages of disease and have poorer outcomes than white women. The American Cancer Society. The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. Copyright 2000 National Black Women's Health Project 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE Suite 310 Washington, DC 20003.