(The Dallas Examiner) – “Together, our breast cancer journey is an experience that makes us healthier and improves the health of our community. We pledge to you, that we are in the fight until we win,” said Karen Eubanks Jackson, founder and CEO of Sisters Network Inc., during the opening remarks of the Loving Our Sisters: A Candid Talk About Black Women and Breast Cancer virtual presentation, March 9.

Jackson, a four-time breast cancer survivor and a pioneer in the national Black breast cancer awareness movement. Through the Sisters Network organization, which she founded in 1994, she works to save lives by educating, empowering and encouraging early detection to increase survival rates.

The organization also strives to cancel the stigma associated with breast cancer within the Black community. All affiliate chapters across the country are led by breast cancer survivors. Annually, the organization receives over 3,500 inquiries from women seeking emotional support, mammograms and financial assistance.

The Loving Our Sisters panelists included breast cancer survivors and a doctor sharing their stories and insights.

Sara Sidner, one of the survivor panelists, is a CNN anchor and senior national correspondent who recently went public with her breast cancer diagnosis – on-air, during her CNN News Central anchor segment. During her announcement, which played from a recording as her opening to the panel discussion, Sidner stated that through her own research, she discovered that Black women are 41% more likely to die from breast cancer than White women. The devastating mortality rate, Sidner explained, is what she focuses on as she continues to research and report while undergoing treatment. In disbelief when initially diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer in November 2023, she requested many times that her doctor re-examine her before ultimately accepting what she had to face. She explained that her decision to publicly announce having breast cancer was done as an act of service.

“It’s about us. Black women are experiencing a crisis,” said Sidner.

Athena Jones, also a CNN national correspondent, received a breast cancer diagnosis in 2012 at the age of 36. At the time, she was under the care of an obstetrician/gynecologist who believed in starting mammogram screening at or around age 35. Current medical guidelines suggest that the age to begin having yearly mammograms is 40. After results of her first-ever mammogram revealed Stage 0 breast cancer of the milk ducts, Jones chose to undergo the most aggressive form of treatment – a double mastectomy. However, she fell into the 10% of women whose cancer returns even after removal of the breasts.

In 2015, after she noticed pea-sized lumps during a self-exam at home, Jones was evaluated and diagnosed with a more invasive form of breast cancer which required surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. At this stage in her journey, she became angry that cancer was disrupting her life. She has since turned those feelings into a passion for advocating for earlier baseline mammograms. She is also passionate about increasing awareness in the Black community.

“I don’t think we see ourselves advertised in literature surrounding breast cancer awareness. The guidelines aren’t reaching and capturing us,” Jones said.

Approached by a filmmaker after sharing her story in Self magazine, Jones is currently working on a documentary highlighting the plight of Black women and breast cancer.

Dr. Lisa Newman, MD, MPH, FACS, FASCO, a surgical breast oncologist, continued the discussion by explaining, “A new breast cancer diagnosis is incredibly traumatic for any individual, regardless of their age, race, ethnicity or even their celebrity status.”

Newman went on to say that there have been remarkable advances in breast cancer treatment, so most women will see success. Not all women will have to experience mastectomy surgery, even for more aggressive forms of breast cancer. Many will only need lumpectomy surgery, which is the removal of just the cancerous tumor, leaving the breast intact.

Newman added that if a mastectomy is determined to be the best form of treatment, breast reconstruction techniques have evolved to the point where both the mastectomy and reconstruction can be performed at the same time. Less invasive lymph node surgery as well as lower doses of radiation and chemotherapy are becoming more commonly prescribed when appropriate. Research is also being performed on strategies that may allow for surgery to be avoided altogether.

“Unfortunately, however, as you’ve already heard [with the higher mortality rate], Black women have not been benefitting to the same extent as other women from many of these advances,” Newman said.

Newman added that socioeconomic disparities have led to the higher rate of mortality amongst Black women with breast cancer. Higher poverty and unemployment rates lead to delays in diagnosis and treatment.

“We also have to acknowledge the fact that systemic racism affects all aspects of American society, including public health and breast oncology,” Newman said.

Black women are more likely to receive inferior mammography services, Newman explained. Accessible health care for many women in the Black community may be limited to public health clinics, versus a private practice where there may be more advanced diagnostic equipment and technology.

Additionally, while the breast cancer patient population is diverse, the population of medical professionals capable of performing treatment is not. This puts Black women at a disadvantage when it comes to having a doctor who can relate to them or who they feel most comfortable seeing.

Lastly, Newman pointed out that mortality rates were comparable for Black and White women until the 1980s. Prior to that time, there was only one treatment for breast cancer – mastectomy. Once targeted treatment was introduced, namely the drug Tamoxifen which treats estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, disparities in death rates began to grow. This was because Black women are more likely to have estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer.

“We simply do not respond as well to this very powerful and effective medical treatment,” Newman explained. She concluded by highlighting that reducing the mortality rate is heavily dependent on spreading the word about the importance of mammogram screening.