Studies have shown that African-American women are less likely to survive breast cancer than their white counterparts. To add to that shocking stat, African- American women are also more likely to get diagnosed in a later stage of the disease than other women.

Fortunately, there’s a program for African American women to help detect breast cancer in its early stages among. Researchers from Emory University created an outreach program to motivate black women to schedule regular mammograms and break through the barriers that are preventing them from initiating regular screenings. Since its inception in 2001, the program has had over 10,000 participants—89 percent of whom are African American.
        
The outreach program has two initiatives: Community Health Advocates and Patient Navigators. Community Health Advocates are trained to go into urban communities to address breast cancer misconceptions and persuade women to get screened frequently. Patient Navigators are breast cancer survivors who work with cancer patients to help them get proper medical care and find support services.

To learn the facts about breast cancer click here. To learn about black women and breast cancer read RH’s feature “Battling Breast Cancer.”