Black Women and Breast Cancer Research

by Margaret Rosenzweig, PhD

As a cancer nurse, I focus on ensuring all women with breast cancer I work with receive timely diagnoses, treatment and support. As a researcher, I focus on better understanding why racial disparity in breast cancer treatment exists. My team’s work in research and outreach initiatives has been to address racial and economic disparities in breast cancer survival. In 2011, my team and I launched the Attitude, Communication, Treatment, Support (ACTS) Intervention to Reduce Breast Cancer Treatment Disparity, funded through the American Cancer Society. We learned that almost all Black women, when recommended to begin chemotherapy for breast cancer, did initiate therapy, but about half of the women were not able to get the full dose on time due to symptoms and distress. The lessons learned from the ACTS study led to the Symptom Experience, Management and Outcomes According to Race and Social Determinants (SEMOARS) study, funded by an R01 National Institutes of Health grant. The SEMOARS study follows 179 Black and 179 White women undergoing chemotherapy treatment and describes the patient’s ability to receive full chemotherapy dosages. Clinician communication may be a component of racial bias during cancer therapy, so we are also audiotaping and coding clinic visits.

Our work with women with breast cancer has also made our team aware of the importance of breast cancer education and screening in the clinic. Our team works with several advocates within the Allegheny County Breast Collaborative (ACBC), a group of more than 20 representatives from the community, health care and academic organizations. ACBC chose Pittsburgh communities with particularly high breast cancer mortality rates—McKeesport, Braddock and Penn Hills—in which to begin outreach. Our work began in Braddock, and in June we will begin operations in McKeesport. We work intimately with these communities, and our team tailors community outreach plans to best benefit these communities. In Braddock, the ACBC team hosts presentations and support sessions, while connecting women to existing breast cancer resources. Our goal is to establish in each community a sustainable system of community support, education and advocacy after one year.

(Margaret Rosenzweig, PhD, is professor and vice chair of research, Department of Acute and Tertiary Care, University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing.)

 

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