Eliminating the breast health inequities plaguing Black women is the aim of an effort launched today by the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
Dubbed “Stand for H.E.R.” (a health equity revolution), the initiative will have an initial focus on the 10 U.S. cities with the largest gaps in breast cancer mortality between Black and white women. The goal: reducing breast cancer mortality rates between the two groups by 25%.
Such disparities, which reach as high as 74%, are not a simple matter of access to screening, according to Paula Schneider, Komen’s president and CEO. “Black women are getting screened at higher rates than white women, and they are still dying more often,” Schneider said in a statement.
As part of the effort, Komen is implementing several concrete actions, one of which involves partnering with the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) to improve the quality of breast cancer treatment, as well as leading a national dialogue and engaging cross-sector leaders on other strategies, the nonprofit said.
