Cancer 1 Us 2

Why it's taken me two days to post the understanding of the government's cancer report is beyond me. Aunt Pearlie died as a result of her surrendering to her breast cancer. "The 2008 report shows that, from 1996 through 2005, death rates for all cancers combined decreased for all racial and ethnic populations and for both men and women, except for American Indian/Alaska Native men and women, for whom rates were stable. The drop in death rates has been steeper for men, who have higher rates, than for women. Death rates declined for 10 of the top 15 causes of cancer death among both men and women. However, death rates for certain individual cancers are increasing, including esophageal cancer for men, pancreatic cancer for women, and liver cancer for both men and women. Overall cancer death rates were highest for African-Americans and lowest for Asian American/Pacific Islanders."

The Washington Post says: "African Americans are less likely than whites to survive breast, prostate and ovarian cancer even when they receive equal treatment..." The 2009 report's conclusions were: "The black-to-white disparity in age-standardized breast cancer mortality was largely driven by the higher hazard rates of breast cancer death among black women, diagnosed with the disease, irrespective of ER expression, and especially in the first few years following diagnosis. Greater emphasis should be placed on identifying the etiology of these excess hazards and developing therapeutic strategies to address them."

The first report uses data from 2005 and the new report reviews data from 2004. While both are the most current data my Aunt wouldn't be included in either. Since her death won't be reflected as lung cancer or cancer it is no doubt in my mind that it was the breast cancer that caused it. She refused to either disclose the mass to her physician or family nor were ever discovered through her numerous physicals. Her response was that she expected it to be discovered fearing once cancer was discovered it would mean the end of her life. In this case it was certainly true. Although her cancer was responsive to treatment and would not have been life threatening.