Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Hey Sisters! October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

This month is essential from an informational standpoint as it spreads awareness. At Sisters With A Stethoscope, we focus on a diverse healthcare field, so we must highlight how breast cancer affects each community differently.

However, let's start with general information. What is breast cancer?

Well breast cancer is the abnormally rapid growth of breast cells that form a tumor and are found to be cancerous. Black women have the highest death rate in breast cancer diagnoses. This is because many tumors amongst black patients are triple negative.

A triple-negative breast cancer is a type that differs from invasive breast cancer as it tends to grow faster and has the least amount of treatment options. Cellularly, they lack estrogen or progesterone receptors and can't make a plethora of HER2. Triple-negative cancers make up around 10-15% of cancers. 

So what can we do? Well, we can encourage our loved ones to get screened and attend their doctor appointments regularly. Women between the ages of 45 and 54 need to get their mammograms yearly. A mammogram is an X-ray of the breast. It can detect lumps, which can lead to Breast Cancer. However, some women are less likely to get a mammogram because of the cost of transportation or just healthcare. 

There are programs out there that offer mammograms for free to help women without health insurance have access to screening tools. Initiatives like these are needed within the healthcare field, and becoming a healthcare professional is a way to have a seat at the table. It is a way to help women in your community and create bridges to fill the gaps between access.