Wednesday, February 18, 2015
In 2014, the Sinai Urban Health Institute and the Avon Foundation for Women conducted a study of the death rates of white and black women due to breast cancer in 50 of the nation’s largest cities over a period of 20 years. The results were striking:
Though white women are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer, on average black women are 40% more likely to die from it.
The most lethal city is Memphis, TN where black women are more than twice as likely to succumb to the disease.
Cities with the highest disparity rates are cities where there are geographically separated medical centers that serve either primarily black or white patients (with little racial mixing).
The mortality rates were relatively even until 1995. After that, white women’s rates declined while black women’s rates stayed the same.