From Straight Arrow · · 2m
Black women face higher breast cancer death rates
Black women are 37% more likely to die from breast cancer than white women due to systemic delays in care and treatment.
In brief
Black women are 37% more likely to die from breast cancer than white women due to systemic delays in care and treatment. Black women face a 37% higher breast cancer death rate than white women because of gaps in diagnostic follow-up, treatment access, and tumor biology. Originally reported by Straight Arrow.
Barryne Richardson's story
Barryne Richardson, 37, was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer in August 2022 but faced months-long delays in scheduling her first follow-up appointment.
“If it were not for the emergency of the pregnancy, then I don’t know what would have happened”
National death rates
Black women are 37% more likely to die from breast cancer than white women, despite slightly lower rates of diagnosis.
“The National Cancer Institute puts the breast cancer death rate at 25.9 per 100,000 non-Hispanic Black women, compared with 19.1 per 100,000 non-Hispanic white women”
Dr. Monique Gary's view
Dr. Monique Gary says the gap between Black and white breast cancer patients is not one problem but a combination of social, healthcare access, behavioral and biological factors.
“We talk a lot about early detection, but we don’t talk enough about what happens after detection”
Dr. Tiffany Troso-Sandoval's insight
Dr. Tiffany Troso-Sandoval explains that delays between an abnormal mammogram and treatment have no single owner and affect Black women more.
“The breakdown is almost never one dramatic error. It’s usually a series of small, reasonable-sounding decisions to wait, to delay”
Dr. Jacque Colbert's experience
Dr. Jacque Colbert, 39, was diagnosed with stage 1A breast cancer in May 2008 after pushing for a mammogram despite initial dismissal by her doctor.
“I refused to go away quietly”
The 'strong Black woman' stigma
Dr. Colbert says the 'strong Black woman' stigma has followed her, making it harder for women without support to advocate for themselves.
“I had a corporate job and a whole circle of women behind me, and I still had to fight to get a mammogram ordered”
Triple-negative breast cancer
Black women are twice as likely to develop triple-negative breast cancer, an aggressive form of the disease.
“Triple-negative breast cancer, an aggressive form of the disease, is about twice as common in Black women”
Military health system study
A 2025 review of women treated in the U.S. military health system found equal access alone may not close the racial gap in breast cancer deaths.
“Black women are more likely to develop aggressive cancers like triple-negative breast cancer”
Financial barriers
Many women face financial barriers to cancer care, including lost wages, transportation costs, and caregiving responsibilities.
“When folks hear 'cancer,' most often, they think medical bills. But it’s also the rent, the light bill, groceries, gas to get back and forth to treatment”
Dr. Sheri Prentiss's story
Dr. Sheri Prentiss, a 40-year-old physician, developed breast cancer-related lymphedema after treatment, ending her medical career but inspiring a foundation for cancer survivors.
“Lymphedema taught me that surviving cancer and recovering from cancer are not the same thing”
What needs to change
Experts say patients should know their cancer subtype, ask for genomic testing, and find out who coordinates their care.
“A second opinion is not an insult to your doctor. At major medical centers, it’s routine”
Accountability gap
The racial gap in breast cancer deaths has persisted despite knowing what needs to change because no one is accountable for the days between diagnosis and treatment.
“The reason [the gap] has not closed nationally is not that we do not know what to do. It’s that no one is accountable for the days between the mammogram and the treatment”
The solution
Experts call for systemic changes in healthcare to address the gaps in diagnostic follow-up, treatment access, and tumor biology that affect outcomes.
“The story of Black women and breast cancer cannot continue to be one of disparities alone. It also has to become a story of accountability, innovation, access and survival”
What to remember
Black women face a 37% higher breast cancer death rate than white women because of gaps in diagnostic follow-up, treatment access, and tumor biology.
