Earlier Mammograms Urged for African American Women

It’s a cruel paradox: If you are a black woman, you are less likely to get breast cancer than a white woman, but you are 41 percent more likely to die from it.

Research has shown that there are multiple factors at work. Black women tend to request medical attention later, have reduced access to health insurance, participate less in wellness care initiatives, and tend to have poorer overall health at the time they are afflicted with breast cancer.


Recent evidence for this group’s disproportionately poor breast cancer outcome comes from several sources:

• Black women are 50 percent more likely to die within three years of a breast cancer diagnosis than white women (American Association for Cancer Research, October 2012)
• Black women are less likely to survive a breast cancer diagnosis within five years (JAMA, June 2013)
• While white women have historically had higher rates of breast cancer, the number of black women diagnosed with breast cancer has increased, while diagnoses for other ethnic groups remained the same or declined (American Cancer Society, October 2013)

In 2013, more than 6,000 black women are expected to die from breast cancer. Experts believe earlier mammograms for black women (starting at age 40) would save lives.

Zwanger-Pesiri Radiology is committed to providing diagnostic imaging services for those who need them, including those who are uninsured. We are proud of our Give Back Sundays program, which provides radiology services for the disadvantaged and uninsured at no charge. It is one of the many ways that Zwanger-Pesiri Radiology gives back to the community.