While breast cancer is more common among White women than Black women, sisters are more likely to die of it, and at younger ages, even when access to health care is the same. Last September, researchers at the University of Chicago received a $9.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to finally discover why. The team conducting the five-year study has already interviewed more than 800 South Side residents and launched a sister project in Ibadan, Nigeria, where women suffer from similar rates of aggressive early-onset breast cancer. We asked Sarah Gehlert, Ph.D., the study’s principal investigator, to tell us what she has learned so far: Do Black women and White women suffer from different forms of breast cancer?
We believe there is more than one form of breast cancer, and from early work that’s been done in analyzing tissue, it looks as if some women do have a mutation, a more aggressive form that’s faster-growing. That strain seems to be more common in premenopausal women of African ancestry and in postmenopausal White women. Is it only a biological problem, or do social factors play a role in our rates of this deadly disease?
We’re trying to understand why some women who have the mutation don’t develop breast cancer. Our hypothesis is that those women are living under less stressful conditions. For instance, from other studies we know that female animals kept in very stressful conditions have early brain aging and can develop spontaneous mammary tumors. So both in Nigeria and on the South Side of Chicago we are looking at women living without much hardship—for example, who are more affluent or live with their families—and at women living in difficult circumstances, perhaps living alone when they don’t want to be or in high-crime neighborhoods. That will help us understand how genes may be activated in high-stress situations. So reducing stress may help Black women avoid breast cancer?
I don’t like blaming the victim: “Oh, you have cancer; it must have been something you did wrong.” But at the same time we want to teach women how to be happy in their own bodies. And you can teach ways of reducing stress. You can’t ever lower crime in your neighborhood, and you don’t want to tell women not to worry about it. But there are some ways you can just treat yourself better in spite of the circumstances. Early detection of breast-cancer tumors through monthly self-exams (best done the week after your period) and yearly mammograms (starting around age 40) can save your life. But making healthy choices—even for those who are predisposed through genetic factors—can decrease the risk of tumors forming in the first place. Along with reducing stress, try the following: Eat a healthful diet, with many vegetables (especially the red and yellow ones, which are high in beta carotene), fruits and whole grains and very little red fatty meat. This will help you maintain a healthy weight, which is important because being overweight is linked to a higher risk of breast cancer. You should also try to cut down on your alcohol intake. According to Len Lichtenfeld, M.D., deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, women who consume two to five alcoholic drinks a day have about a 50 percent higher risk of breast cancer than women who don’t drink. Exercise regularly. Although the connection between fat and cancer isn’t completely clear, experts believe that the more fat tissue you have, the more you increase your estrogen levels and, as a result, your likelihood of developing breast cancer. Lose weight if you need to, and build muscle with at least 30 minutes of moderate activity several days per week. More is even better. Develop a good relationship with a health-care provider. Some studies suggest that a good clinical exam with a physician who knows you and is aware of your changing breast density may be as important as mammography.
For more information, call the American Cancer Society, (800) ACS-2345, or visit the organization’s Web site, cancer.org. |
