Breast cancer

The latest data from the American Cancer Society indicate breast cancer is now the most common cause of cancer death for African American women in Georgia even though breast cancer deaths overall have been declining.

New data from the American Cancer Society show breast cancer as the number one form of cancer-related death for African American women in Georgia. Principal scientist from the American Caner Society, Carol Desantis, and director of cancer health equity at Morehouse School of Medicine, Dr. Brian Rivers, delve into the reality behind the numbers.

Breast cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death for black women in six states including Georgia, according to the American Cancer Society. The other five states are Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Mississippi and South Carolina. Previously, lung cancer was the leading cause of cancer death.

Overall, breast cancer death rates have consistently declined since 1989, but incidence or frequency of diagnosis is on the rise, according to the latest Breast Cancer Facts & Figures.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among Georgia women. The good news is more than half of deaths linked to the disease were prevented in the U.S. over the past three decades; however, there's a big racial gap in Georgia. African-American women are more likely to die from breast cancer than non-hispanic white women. The American Cancer Society released these findings.

Carol DeSantis is the lead author of the study and spoke with "On Second Thought" with the latest statistics. Janice McKenzie-Crayton also joined the conversation. McKenzie-Crayton is a three-time breast cancer survivor and chair of Komen Atlanta's Sisters of Promise.

SouthCoast Health in Savannah is testing a new kind of breast cancer screening. It’s one of eight locations across the country taking part in the clinical trial for a method called SoftVue.

For Mark Sanchez, being a peach grower means "you pretty much stay worried all year. That's because for peaches to bloom in the spring, peach trees have to stay cold in the winter. At Lane Southern Orchards in Fort Valley, Georgia, that means getting 650-850 "chill hours" — or hours under 45 degrees Fahrenheit — between November and February. But last year, conditions didn't even come within range. By Sanchez's estimate, Fort Valley only got about 550 cold hours. Whereas a typical peach season goes through mid-August, Lane wrapped up operations in early July. So after this year's cold winter, Sanchez, Lane's CEO, is more optimistic. We talked to him about what we can expect from this year's peach season and what makes Georgia the peach state even though other states have surpassed our production levels. 

A new study from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation finds disparities in breast cancer outcomes among African-American women compared to white women.

This follows a 2016 Cancer Epidemiology study that found that of any U.S. city, Atlanta had the widest gap in breast cancer mortality rates between African-American women and white women. That’s with 44 black patients per 100,000 residents dying, compared to 20 per 100,000 white women.

Good news: breast cancer death rates dropped by nearly 40 percent in the last three decades. Breast cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosis for U.S. women. Skin cancer’s first. But there is bad news. Black women continue to die at a higher rate than whites, especially in the South.  But some states have eliminated the racial disparity in breast cancer deaths. These are recent findings by the Atlanta-based American Cancer Society.

Good news: breast cancer death rates dropped by nearly 40 percent in the last three decades. Breast cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosis for U.S. women. Skin cancer’s first. But there is bad news. Black women continue to die at a higher rate than whites, especially in the South. But some states have eliminated the racial disparity in breast cancer deaths. These are recent findings by the Atlanta-based American Cancer Society. Carol DeSantis is Director of Breast and Gynecological Surveillance for the organization, and our guest.