Lou Portero

Urban Health Today

Oncology nurse calls on other nurses and health care providers to help reduce the racial disparity in breast cancer mortality, especially among Black women.Patricia Jakel, an advanced practice nurse at UCLA Santa Monica&rsquo;s Solid Oncology Program, found it distressing that black women in the United States still had a 41% higher mortality rate from cancer than white women despite considerable breakthroughs in treatment options.A study by Giaquinto et al. found that Black women with breast cancer are more often diagnosed at the later stages of the disease. According to the study, Black and White women received 57% and 67% of localized-stage diagnoses, respectively. As a result, Black women with breast cancer had a lower 5-year overall survival rate of 82%, compared to 92% for white women.Jakel also emphasized the heightened disparity among Black women, citing that in 2019, breast cancer surpassed lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer death among this population. She called for targeted interventions to reduce stark cancer inequalities in the Black community.Lower socioeconomic status, reduced access to appropriate health care, and inadequate health insurance may all contribute to these heightened disparities experienced by black women. To improve cancer care for Black patients across the country, Jakel urged her fellow oncology nurses to recognize these disparities, share the message, and equip these communities with evidence-based interventions.She added that it was not just the care and treatment of Black women with breast cancer that the system failed. According to Jakel, the system does not protect Black patients with many types of cancer. She also believes the COVID-19 pandemic has further widened health disparities for individuals of color.According to Jakel, for nurses and other health care workers to help close this mortality gap, they must recognize and address issues such as poor patient-physician relationships, longer referral times, treatment delays, and greater distrust of the medical system.&ldquo;Future research should explore the influence of systemic racism on health but also develop systems to reverse the course of such racism. Oncology nurses must work to change racial disparities in their practices locally, nationally, and globally. When it comes to health care, equal care and access are basic human rights. It starts with us,&rdquo; she said in the article.

"Elderspeak" in Dementia Care: How Baby Talk to Older Adults Can Increase Resistance

Public Health

Women with Autoimmune Conditions Face Double the Risk of Heart Disease Death Compared to Men

Autoimmune Disease in Women

Rebecca Araujo

AI-Driven Insulin Support: Are These Tools Ready for Diabetes Care?

Diabetes

Latest News

Call for Action From Oncology Nurses to Close the Growing Disparity in Breast Cancer Mortality Among People of Color

Disparities in Nursing

Patricia Jakel, advanced practice nurse, calls out how nurses and health care providers can help close the mortality gap faced by Black women with breast cancer.

Oncology Nurses Call for End to Breast Cancer Mortality Disparity Among People of Color

About Us

Editorial Policy

Contributors & Partners

Contact Us

eNewsletters

Work With Us

Advertising

Career Center

GU Oncology Now

Blood Cancers Today

Cancer Nursing Today

DocWire News

MashupMD

Food Allergy Roundtable Discussions

Allergy

Blood Cancers

— Multiple Myeloma

Breast Cancer

Colorectal Cancer

Pancreatic Cancer

Prostate Cancer

Cancer

Gastroenterology

Heart Failure

Heart Disease Prevention

Heart Health

— Alzheimer’s Disease

Neurology

Autoimmune Disease

Infectious Diseases

Obesity

Pediatrics

Sickle Cell Disease

Digital Health

Dermatology

Pulmonology

Video Insights

Workforce News

More

Gynecologic Cancer

Heart Disease in Women

Menopause

Reproductive Health

Women’s Neurology

Well Woman Today

Roundtables

Podcasts

Conferences

Viewpoints

Subscribe