Breast Cancer Incidence Rates Converging Among White, African American Women

Breast cancer incidence rates increased slightly among African American women from 2006 to 2010, bringing those rates closer to the historically higher rates among white women, according to a new analysis by American Cancer Society researchers. The explanation behind the rise is unclear.

The finding is published in Breast Cancer Statistics, 2013 published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The report and its consumer version, Breast Cancer Facts & Figures 2013-2014, are published biennially and provide detailed analyses of breast cancer incidence, mortality, and survival trends, as well as information on early detection, treatment, and factors that influence risk and survival.
An estimated 232,340 new cases of invasive breast cancer and 39,620 breast cancer deaths are expected to occur among U.S. women in 2013. About eight in ten breast cases and nearly nine in ten breast cancer deaths will occur among women aged 50 years and older.
Incidence rates
In the latest time period (2006-2010), incidence rates increased for estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancers in the youngest white women, Hispanic women in their 60s, and all but the oldest African American women. In contrast, estrogen receptor-negative (ER-) breast cancers declined among most age and racial/ethnic groups. In every age group, white women have the highest rates of ER+ breast cancer and African American women have the highest rates of ER- breast cancer. These differences may reflect racial variations in the prevalence of risk factors that differ by ER status. For example, reproductive history and obesity appear to be more strongly associated with ER+ breast cancer, whereas lower socioeconomic status is associated with an increased risk of ER- breast cancer.
Historically, white women have had the highest breast cancer incidence rates among women aged 40 years and older. However, incidence rates are now converging among white and African American women, particularly among women aged 50 years to 59 years.
While the oft-quoted statistic is true that a woman living in the United States has a 1-in-8 lifetime risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer compared to a 1-in-11 risk in the 1970s, some of that increase is due to increased detection as a result of widespread mammography screening and because women now have a longer life expectancy. Lifetime risk reflects the average probability of being diagnosed with breast cancer from birth to death.
Mortality rates
Breast cancer death rates have dropped by 34% since 1990 in all racial/ethnic groups except American Indians/Alaska Natives. Nevertheless, survival disparities persist by race/ethnicity, with African American women having the poorest breast cancer survival of any racial/ethnic group.
Screening
In 2010, two in three (67%) of U.S. women 40 and older reported having a mammogram within the past two years. The mammography screening rate peaked in 2000, declined slightly, and has been stable since 2005. The report also finds that in general, those states with higher rates of mammography screening had fewer late stage breast cancers diagnosed among non-Hispanic white women. Despite similar overall screening rates, African American women have remained more likely to be diagnosed with regional and distant stage breast cancers compared with white women, which the authors say may reflect differences in the quality of mammography screening and delayed follow-up for abnormal mammography findings.
The researchers conclude the report by saying: "Continued progress in the control of breast cancer will require sustained and increased efforts to provide high-quality screening, diagnosis, and treatment to all segments of the population."

source:science daily

Cultural Differences Explain Non-Completion of HPV Vaccination in Girls in Low-Income Families

              Although they are at higher risk for cervical cancer, girls from low-income families are less likely to receive the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine that prevents it, and the reasons they are not fully vaccinated differ depending on whether their parents are English-speaking or Spanish-speaking, suggests research being presented at IDWeek 2013™.
            In the study, Spanish-speaking parents whose daughters were not fully vaccinated said their providers either did not encourage the vaccine or didn't explain that three shots were necessary for full protection. Parents also noted that the vaccine undermined the "no sex before marriage" message they were trying to convey. Conversely, English-speaking parents cited concerns over safety of the vaccine, low perceived risk of HPV infection and distrust of government or medicine in general.
"HPV vaccination is one of the few tools we have that actually protects against cancer, so it's important to get girls vaccinated before they become sexually active and are exposed to the virus," said Sean O'Leary, MD, MPH, an investigator at Children's Outcomes Research Program, which is affiliated with Children's Hospital Colorado and the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora. "The reasons low-income girls did not initiate or complete HPV vaccination were strikingly different depending on whether their parents spoke English or Spanish. This insight should be helpful to health educators and policymakers as they seek ways to improve vaccination rates."
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. While some people clear the infection on their own, in other cases it can cause cancer of the genital area or throat, as well as genital warts. About 12,000 U.S. women are diagnosed every year with cervical cancer, the most common HPV-caused cancer. The vaccine targets the types of HPV that cause the vast majority of cervical cancers in the United States. Once a person is exposed to HPV, the vaccine is not as effective, which is why the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends it be given to girls and boys ages 11-12, before they become sexually active.
The HPV vaccine is given in three doses over six months. Overall, about 33 percent of girls have had all three doses of the vaccine, but only 28 percent of girls below the poverty level have had all three doses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Studies show certain populations, including those living below the poverty line, have higher rates of cervical cancer.
The study included interviews with 41 low-income parents of girls ages 12-15 to learn why they had either not initiated or not completed the HPV vaccine series. Of those, 30 were interviewed by phone for 25-40 minutes, including: 10 English-speaking and 10 Spanish-speaking parents whose daughters had not completed the vaccine series, and 10 Spanish-speaking parents whose daughters had not initiated the vaccine. The remaining 11 English-speaking parents of girls who had not initiated the vaccine participated in a two-hour focus group.
The findings suggest low-income parents may be targeted differently depending on whether they are Spanish- or English-speaking, said Dr. O'Leary. For example, many Spanish-speaking parents whose daughters had not completed the series said they didn't realize the girls had to get three shots to complete the series. A reminder system that includes providing the information in Spanish could help in those cases, he notes. For English-speaking parents, discussing the vaccine's safety record might be beneficial.

source:science daily

STORIES THAT WILL MOTIVATE YOU

This African Queen was known as Albertina Sisulu. She was born on  the 21st of October, 1918   and she was laid to rest  on the 2nd of June, 2011 in her home in Linden, Johannesburg, South Africa. She was at the ripe age of 92.                                                                                                                                                                                                        She was a political activist and nurse and one of the most important leaders of anti-Apartheid resistance in South Africa. She is often referred to as the `Mother of the Nation’. She acted on her ideal of human rights throughout her life, assisted by her husband and fellow activist, the late Walter Sisulu (1912-2003).
It was with Walter that she attended the first conference of the ANC Youth League where Albertina Sisulu was the only women present. In 1948 she joined the ANC Women’s League and in the 1950s she began to assume a leadership role – both in the ANC and in the Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW). She was one of the organizers of the historic anti-pass Women’s March in 1956 and opposed inferior `Bantu’ education. Her home in Orlando West in Soweto was used as a classroom for alternative education until a law was passed against it.

Both Albertina and her husband were jailed several times for their political activities and she was constantly harassed by the Security Police.

Sources: http://www.sahistory.org.za/south-african-and-world-leaders                                                                           http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albertina_Sisulu

Another great women who fought apartheid in South Africa and deserves to be an African Queen is Lillian Masediba Ngoyi. She was born on the 25th of September, 1911 and was laid to rest on the 13th of March, 1980 when she was just 68 years old.  She was a South African anti-apartheid activist. She was the first woman elected to the executive committee of the African National Congress, and helped launch the Federation of South African Women.

Lilian Ngoyi was also a transnational figure who recognized the potential influence that international support could have on the struggle against apartheid and the emancipation of black women. With this in mind she embarked on an audacious (and highly illegal) journey to Lausanne, Switzerland in 1955 to participate in the World Congress of Mothers held by the Women’s International Democratic Federation (WIDF). Accompanied by her fellow activist Dora Tamana, and as an official delegate of FEDSAW, she embarked on a journey that would see an attempt to stow away on a boat leaving Cape Town under “white names”, defy (with the help of a sympathetic pilot) segregated seating on a plane bound for London and gain entry to Britain under the pretext of completing her course in bible studies. With Tamana, she would visit England, Germany, Switzerland, Romania, China and Russia, meeting women leaders often engaged in left wing politics, before arriving back in South Africa a wanted woman
Ngoyi was not an intellectual, rather she was known as a strong orator and a fiery inspiration to many of her colleagues in the ANC. She was arrested in 1956, spent 71 days in solitary confinement, and was for a period of 11 years placed under severe bans and restrictions that often confined to her home in Orlando, Soweto. A community health center in Soweto is named in her honor.
On 16 November 2004, the South African Ministry of the Environment launched the first vessel in a class of environmental patrol vessel named the Lillian Ngoyi in her honor.
On 9 August 2006, the 50th anniversary of the march on Pretoria, Strijdom Square from which the women marched, was renamed Lilian Ngoyi Square.  The 9th of August is commemorated in South Africa as Women’s Day.
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lillian_Ngoyi