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Let's end breast cancer for EVERY woman

MÁS EN ESTA SECCIÓN

Fighting Sargassum

Community Colleges

COMPARTA ESTE CONTENIDO:

 I never imagined it would happen to me, but that didn’t stop me from getting my annual mammograms. I was 42, a wife and mother to two daughters under 4 years old when my worst fear was realized – I had breast cancer.

The first month after my diagnosis was miserable. I remember calling to make an appointment for a biopsy, and having the receptionist tell me that the doctor didn’t take new patients and that she wouldn’t be able to squeeze me in for 3 months. Thankfully I didn’t wait and I found another doctor – turns out if I had waited 3 months, I may not be writing this today.

I’m one of the lucky ones – a three year breast cancer survivor. I had a wonderful support system in my husband, family and friends. Unfortunately, many women in Pennsylvania won’t be so lucky. This year, over 9,400 women in our state will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and more than 2,100 will die.

For many Latinas, being diagnosed with a disease like breast cancer can seem like “God’s way,” with too much acceptance and too little hope for survival. We often put our families’ health ahead our own, not getting the care we need as soon as possible. And when we do seek care, we often encounter doctors who are not sensitive to cultural and language barriers that women in our community face.

The hopeful reality is that while there is no cure for breast cancer, there is a 98% survival rate when it is detected and treated early, before it spreads. Unfortunately, the benefits of the advances we have made in breast cancer early detection, diagnosis and treatment are not shared evenly. There are major – and shameful – gaps in access to care, making a breast cancer diagnosis much deadlier for low-income and minority women.

For Latina women, breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer death. At least part of the reason for this is that only 38 percent of Latinas over the age of 40 report having regular mammograms. We must change this.

Pennsylvania has done a lot in the fight against this disease. The state’s HealthyWoman Program (HWP) provides free breast and cervical cancer early detection services to low-and moderate-income women who are either uninsured or underinsured.

Unfortunately, HWP serves fewer than 10 percent of the women who are eligible for its life-saving services. The Komen Community Challenge is launching in Philadelphia this week to raise awareness of the unnecessary disparities in breast cancer survival. Breast cancer survivors, activists, elected officials and healthcare professionals are coming together and calling for more state funding to expand the HealthyWoman Program so that the gap in access to early detection can be closed.

Surviving breast cancer should never have anything to do with what color skin you have or how much money you make.  I urge all Philadelphian women who are at least 40 years old, to get annual mammograms and educate themselves, as well as their mothers, sisters, daughters and neighbors about the importance of regular screening. Just as important, I encourage all women to learn about your family history, and understand what is normal for you.

Breast cancer doesn’t have to be a death sentence - I’m living proof of that. I hope Philadelphian women will join me in working to win the war against breast cancer once and for all – for every woman.

 

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