Wicked Wednesday: Afros for Breast
Did you know that African American women leading cause of death is lung cancer? Or that the second highest cause of death is breast cancer? According to research, there will be 27,060 new discoveries of breast cancer in African American in this year alone and 6,080 African American women are expected to die from it.
While we do not have the highest rate amongst all races, we do have a pretty high rate for women under 45 and a mortality rate that is 41% higher than our Anglo Saxon counterpart.
African American Men are just as vulnerable to this disease as African American women. It is important that we recognize that this is not a gender based disease.
While we have improved on our screening rates, this is still a cause that we need to educate ourselves on. Education must go much deeper than pink ribbons and walks. We must learn about our genetic history and the signs to look out for. We must do regular checks and learn ourselves so that we will be able to catch any early signs. We must also encourage each other to become aware!
July is Breast Cancer Awareness month.
In today’s Wicked Wednesday we will be honoring naturals who have fought Breast Cancer.
Minnie Ripperton
Richard Roundtree
Marsha Hunt
Ernie Green
Audre Lorde
Edward Brooke
Wanda Sykes
http://www.breastcancer.org/research-news/20070406b
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