1. RUNNING HEAD: CULTURE AWARENESS OF BREAST CANCER 1
Breast cancer disparity is evident in the African American women population because
they are dying due to breast cancer more often than their white counterparts. The article Black
Women’s Awareness of Breast Cancer Disparity and Perceptions of the Causes of Disparity,
examines awareness of breast cancer disparities among Black women in Chicago; and Black
women’s perceptions of the causes of breast cancer disparity. A study was performed that
consisted of black women from Chicago of various ages. Some believed socioeconomic status is
the contributing factor to the mortality of African American women, and others believed it’s the
behavior and attitudes of women. Contributing factor affects how delivery of health care is given
to African American women before and after being diagnosed with breast cancer. The article
examines a study that brings attention and informs readers about the disparities of breast cancer
among the African American women in Chicago.
The methods that were used to investigate the awareness of breast cancer disparities
among Black women in Chicago, and Black women’s perceptions of the causes of breast cancer
disparity included surveys, questions, and focus groups. The women consisted of adult women of
various ages, who lived in Chicago. According to Black Women’s Awareness of Breast Cancer
Disparity and Perceptions of the Causes of Disparity, “all study procedures were approved by the
Institutional Review Board of Northwestern University (Phelan, J. C., Link, B. G., & Tehranifar,
P, 2010).” There were also interview recordings conducted. The “interview recordings were
transcribed and identifying information was removed from the transcripts (Phelan, J. C., Link, B.
G., & Tehranifar, P, 2010).”
A question that was asked was, “in your opinion, who is more likely to die from breast
cancer?…“51 % of participants believed all women have the same chance of dying from breast
cancer (Phelan, J. C., Link, B. G., & Tehranifar, P, 2010).” When participants were asked the

2. Culture Awareness of Breast Cancer 2
question “who was more likely to die from breast cancer, none believed that Whites were at
highest risk. Responses were almost equally split between Black women being more likely to die
from breast cancer and all women having the same chance ((Phelan, J. C., Link, B. G., &
Tehranifar, P, 2010).” These responses were from people who either had perceptions that
socioeconomic status was the contributing factor to the mortality of black women, or the
behavior and attitudes of women were the contributing factor.
According to the article, “health professionals views health disparities as resulting from
factors outside of the individual, such as socioeconomic status, health policy, and the
environment. These social factors in turn are believed to influence health behaviors and access to
resources that protect health (Phelan, J. C., Link, B. G., & Tehranifar, P, 2010).” Although, the
social factors influence whether or not black women will access resources, breast screenings are
accessible to all women regardless of race. Therefore, the only barrier that the African American
women in Chicago face, are themselves. A participant of the study “believed that disparities
result from an unhealthy diet and from limited access to healthcare…three factors in her
perceptions of disparities: behavioral (unwillingness to talk about cancer), healthcare
(disrespectful treatment of the uninsured at health clinics), and societal factors (toxins in food)
(Kaiser, K., Cameron, K., Curry, G., Stolley, M.).” The three factors mentioned are examples of
a patient that needs education about breast cancer and has to be compliant with the education
provided.
In addition, contributing factors to being unaware of breast cancer disparities among
African American women in Chicago affects how delivery of health care is given to African
American women before and after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Fear plays a big role in
the hesitation to take the necessary steps for diagnoses of any disease, especially breast cancer.

3. Culture Awareness of Breast Cancer 3
For example, “fear was cited as a reason for the reluctance among Blacks to be screened for
breast cancer. These findings are consistent with prior research documenting high levels of
cancer fear and fatalism… (Davis, S. N., Thompson, H., Gutierrez, Y. E., Boateng, S. G., &
Jandorf, L.).” Along with fear, shameful and embarrassed are attitudes that arise as a contributing
factor. One participant of the study “articulated both the role of fear and the reluctance to
communicate with others about cancer:”
Moreover, the studied showed that when people think of breast cancer they associate
breast cancer (incidence) with dying (mortality). A weakness of the article is the study did not
include women who had other views besides, breast cancer results to death. There are women
that have been diagnosed with breast cancer, that have not died and have been cured. On the
other hand, women are living longer lives with breast cancer as long as they are taking
appropriate measures, including regular doctor’s appointment, treatment, and medication.
Another weakness of this article was “little is known about knowledge of health disparities
among minority populations themselves. None of the participants discussed either genetic or
societal (i.e., availability of healthy food) explanations for racial disparities in breast cancer
independent of other explanations (Phelan, J. C., Link, B. G., & Tehranifar, P, 2010).” A point
that was made in the article was that African American women are dying more than their white
counterparts. In order to strengthen the argument, it would be helpful to add in statistics about
African American women in the United States, and not only in Chicago.
On the positive side, there were some strengths in this article. For example, the study
included a survey that “assessed demographic characteristics, breast cancer screening history,
and knowledge of racial disparities in breast cancer (Phelan, J. C., Link, B. G., & Tehranifar, P,
2010).” The study did not focus on one resource, instead several. Data and statistics were also

4. Culture Awareness of Breast Cancer 4
included in the article. The article showed a table that had explanations for health disparities. The
study also used women of various ages, backgrounds, and exposure to others with breast cancer.
Furthermore, future findings and work were implicated in the article. Thereby showing
readers that research is not done. For example, a future work is there needs to be “focus group
results that indicate Black women in Chicago are motivated to be screened for breast cancer
(Phelan, J. C., Link, B. G., & Tehranifar, P, 2010).” According to the article, “future work
should inform women of the importance of mammogram facility characteristics. This
information could empower them to choose better facilities (to the extent that they are able to
select their facility) and advocate for the inclusion of digital mammography (Phelan, J. C., Link,
B. G., & Tehranifar, P, 2010).” This idea does not only benefit the women of Chicago, but
women everywhere. As the article explains these future works, it can only encourage women
about awareness and taking care of their health.

5. Culture Awareness of Breast Cancer 5
Works Cited
Davis, S. N., Thompson, H., Gutierrez, Y. E., Boateng, S. G., & Jandorf, L. (2002). Breast
cancer fatalism: Ethnic differences and association with cancer screening. Annals of
Epidemiology, 12(7), 491–492.
Kaiser, K., Cameron, K., Curry, G., Stolley, M. (2013). Black Women’s Awareness of Breast
Cancer Disparity and Perceptions of the Causes of Disparity. J Community Health,
38:766–772
Nicholson, R. A., Kreuter, M. W., Lapka, C., et al. (2008). Unintended effects of emphasizing
disparities in cancer communication to African-Americans. Cancer Epidemiology Bio-
markers and Prevention, 17(11), 2946–2953.
Phelan, J. C., Link, B. G., & Tehranifar, P. (2010). Social conditions as fundamental causes of
health inequalities: Theory, evidence, and policy implications. Journal of Health and
Social Behavior, 51, 28–40.
The Kaiser Family Foundation. (2012). Percent of Women Age 50 and Older Who Report
Having Had a Mammogram Within the Last 2 Years, by Race/Ethnicity, 2010. http://
www.state healthfacts.org/comparebar.jsp?cat=10&ind=481.