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"Lord, help me, Lord, help me, that was my immediate reaction when I was diagnosed with breast cancer," said Betty I. Thomas.
His confession came on Saturday as a near-silent rain offered a baptism to those gathered for the 10th Annual Healing Stream Breast Cancer Awareness Walk / Run in Cadwalader Park in Trenton, New Jersey.
Audrey Walker, one of dozens of Healing Stream members, smiled on her face and looked up at the sky.
"These clouds may be up there but you have to take a closer look, L.A. I can see the sun," she says.
"We have more support and more information.For the community, this is really the main goal.Many people in this community are not aware of the problems related to breast cancer. This walk highlights the problem and offers Important Information for People Living with this Health Problem Early detection is important Most importantly, people diagnosed with breast cancer should know, they need to know, that they do not have to suffer this alone. "
Walker discovered his breast cancer situation during a self-examination.
"I found mine 13 years ago during a self-examination. I found this mass and called my doctor – immediately," Walker recalls. "I called him on the following Friday and Monday, I had a mammogram that finally showed cancerous cells leading to a lumpectomy, and a year later the cancer came back and I had chemotherapy." Thirteen years later , hear me say that I am alive today because of early detection.
The Healing Stream event drew an audience consisting mostly of African American women and men. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report disparate statistics on cancer mortality among African-American women compared to their Caucasian sisters.
According to the CDC, "compared to white women, black women had a lower breast cancer rate (incidence rate) and higher breast cancer deaths (death rate) between 1999 and 2013. During this period, the incidence of breast cancer decreased among white women, and slightly increased among black women.The incidence of breast cancer is about the same for women of both races.
"Breast cancer deaths are declining in black and white women, especially young black women, but breast cancer mortality rates are 40 percent higher in black women than in white women."
Carol DeSantis, director of breast cancer and gynecological surveillance at the American Cancer Society, served as a report to the lead author of a report published in 2017 by the American Cancer Society, which proposed new information on breast cancer with regard to race.
"A large body of research suggests that the black-white breast cancer disparity results from a complex interplay of biological and non-biological factors, including stage-of-diagnosis differences, tumor characteristics, tumor size, and low blood pressure. obesity, other health problems, as well as the characteristics of the tumor, especially a higher rate of triple negative cancer, "noted DeSantis.
"But the substantial geographic variation in breast cancer mortality rates confirms the role of social and structural factors, and the disparity that is tightening in many states indicates that increased access to health care for low-income populations can help further reduce disparities in breast cancer. "
In summary and in simple terms, black and African-American women are less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer but more likely to die of breast cancer. A genetic component also exists for many families.
Thomas shares her life as a breast cancer survivor with her sister Joan Randolph, while their older sister Margaret Jackson dies of the disease. Randolph died at 60 years old.
"The first diagnosis was diagnosed about 27 years ago," Randolph said. "I had a mammogram and they found a place, I did a biopsy and had a mastectomy.In 2014, they underwent a mammogram and they discovered cancer in the other breast. I have therefore undergone another mastectomy. "
"I am blessed," said Randolph. "Breast cancer is a difficult disease, you just try to take it every day at a time and be thankful for every moment that you get in. Yes, and have a mammogram. Breast cancer teaches you to be grateful and to rely on others. " I firmly believe in God and he has put many people in my life to help me through this. "
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