Doctor, congresswoman want to close gap in breast cancer screening

A Black woman is twice as likely to die from breast cancer before the age of 50 as a white woman – according to the director of the Yale Cancer Center.

Dr. Eric Winer said that startling statistic could be caused by a number of different factors. The largest, is in the disparity in breast cancer treatment, he says.

When it comes to breast cancer screenings, it’s harder to detect cancer among women with dense breast tissue, and not all providers let women know the risks following a mammogram.

Some women may not know that extra screenings are important.

Those screenings aren’t always covered, so there’s the push at the federal level to make sure they’re covered by law.

Winer says making sure women have access to a full cancer plan is crucial, particularly for women with dense breasts. Those women are often women of color, and there’s a great treatment disparity among them, including trust in health care industries and socioeconomic factors.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro worked to pass a law three years ago that requires the FDA to develop a policy regarding providing information to women across the country with dense breasts about what they need to know. She says three years later, they still haven’t done it.

Read the full story from WVIT, or watch the video, to learn more about what DeLauro says is needed.