Why Are Black Women Less Likely To Stick With A Breast Cancer Follow-Up Treatment?

Black Women and Breast Cancer

Niasha Fray used to counsel women about sticking with their cancer treatment.  Then she was diagnosed with breast cancer and  started to experience first-hand what her counselling clients went through. 

Black women are less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer, but are 40% more likely to die from it.  The disparity can be even higher for other cancers.

According to this article, part of the reason for this is that Black women are less likely to stick with follow-up treatment. 

If African American women -  and men - are less likely to attend follow-up appointments or stick with the treatment, there could be many reasons for this.  They could be finding it harder to pay for the treatment.  Finances are often a factor.  They may find it difficult to have to take time off from work; transport may be a problem.

Black patients tend to do better with Black doctors.  There may be other psychological, emotional or social factors involved. Read this article to find out more about this topic. 

To find out about my cancer journey, go here for my Cancer Journals. 

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