THREAD: It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month! It’s wonderful that an entire MONTH is recognized for conversations about breast cancer. But unfortunately, some of that (wonderful) conversation obscures some particular parts of the breast cancer community that often get overlooked.

So in my small effort to combat that, I’m going to be tweeting each day this week about a group whose particular concerns/experiences with breast cancer should be highlighted. First up: Black Breast Cancer.

The statistics make clear just how jaw-dropping the disparity is between breast cancer outcomes for Black and white patients (I’m going to say “women” from now on, but anybody with breasts – which is everybody – carries some risk).

Breast cancer incidence rates among Black and white women are largely the same (with fluctuations over time, and excluding Black women younger than 45, who are more likely to get it). But here’s the most shocking, but unfortunately not at all surprising, number:

breast cancer *death* rates among Black women are 40% - FORTY PERCENT – higher than white women. And Black women have a 31% breast mortality rate – the highest of any U.S. racial or ethnic group.

So even though Black and white women are getting diagnosed at the same frequency, Black women are much likelier to die of their breast cancer than white women. That’s related to the next fact: White women are likelier to have their breast cancer found at an earlier age than

Black women. Black women are also likelier to develop triple-negative breast cancer, which is a rarer form of breast cancer and requires very aggressive treatment.

There are many factors that distinguish breast cancer in Black women from breast cancer that presents in other races, which is why the amazing @RickiDOVE, the founder of @TOUCHBBCA, advocates for Black Breast Cancer to be classified as its own, singular disease,

because of all the many unique ways it manifests itself.

So there are several major ways that the Black and white breast cancer experiences diverge following diagnosis. But why does this happen in the first place? So much of it can be traced back to screening and preventative health – services whose quality and availability, like those

in so many American institutions, are linked to a person’s race.

Let me pause here and note the many incredible individuals and organizations who are a part of and are working in service of Black breast cancer every single day. If you’d like to leave this thread and just go check out the work they’re doing, I support that 100%.

@TOUCHBBCA @RickiDOVE @sistersnetwork @blkwomenshealth @equalhope_il
@BreastCareDC @thebreastofus @bravebeauty26
@marissadt28 @AABCA_Mpls @sleotin

And please add anyone/any organizations I'm missing!! This list is by no means exhaustive.