Breast cancer in Florida
Florida is a state that contains 19% immigrants and 17% of its population is made up of blacks, breast cancer is the second prominent root of death among black women in this state (WHO mortality database, p1).
High immortality rates of Black women with Cancer in Florida
Black women agonize the major cancer affliction as compared to women from all the other ethnic groups most especially white and this is as a result of the complex differences in risk factors. The breast cancer mortality rate is 40% higher among the black women than in white women even though they are less likely to develop breast cancer (WHO mortality database, p1). These risk elements directly influence not just on the cancer incident but correspondingly on the access to and accessibility of early discovery and well-timed treatment. These in turn affects the aptitude to effectively battle cancer and thus impacting cancer survival.
The reason why this happens is because black women are less likely to get frequent health check-ups like mammograms that help to determine if they have any major health issues like breast cancer as compared to the white women (Goodwin et al., p. 23), (Patterson et al., p. 34). This means that by the time they get diagnosed with breast cancer, the disease is normally so advanced which leads to increased mortality rates for them. Another factor that leads to increased mortality rates for the black women due to breast cancer is health insurance. The women who do not have health insurance are much less likely to get mammograms as compared to the women with health insurance (American Cancer Society, p. 1), (Rosenberg et al., p. 18).
A very small percentage of black women have an insurance coverage due to low income as compared to white women and this is a major reason for breast cancer disparities in Florida. Another major factor that leads to increased mortality rates among the back women is the issue of follow up. Access to follow up care after an abnormal mammogram is very low among the black women as compared to the white women and this leads their cancer to advance to late stages and hence the high mortality rates (Palmer et al, p 32), (Papa , Costantino & Belfiore, p 27).
Stake holders that can help in dealing with the issue
The Florida Breast Cancer Early Detection and Treatment Referral Program were authorized by the Florida Legislature in the year 2001 and it is commonly known as Mary Brogan Program (Arthur & Katkin, p 22), (Anderson, p. 14). The program helps in providing screening sessions that offers amenities for breast cancer screening, follow up on diagnostic amenities for the abnormal screenings and aid in location of cure for the women that do not have health coverage. The main aim of this program is to increase cancer screening rates among women, to reduce breast cancer disparities and to leverage available resources through partnerships (Fang J, Madhavan & Alderman, p. 16). Working together with this program, it will be much easier to come up with some effective policies that can help to reduce the high mortality rates of black women from breast cancer.
Comparing various Policy options that can be adopted
- A federal mandate for annualized mammograms in all public hospitals around Florida for women aged 25 and above.
Advantages: all women whether white or black will have the opportunity to get checked for breast cancer for free which will help in early breast cancer detection and thus reduced advanced cases that cause high mortality rates.
Disadvantages: this will encourage more women to get checked and there will hence be increased costs on the side of the government and the other groups of health providers that will be involved in this process.
- A federal mandate requiring all black women diagnosed with breast cancer most especially the women who come from poor backgrounds to receive free cancer treatments at specified government hospitals all over Florida.
Advantages: This will help reduce the mortality rates for black women, most of who die due to lack of enough funds to acquire treatment for their conditions.
Disadvantages: cancer treatment is quite expensive and so this will need a lot of funding in order for it to be effective.
- A federal mandate of health insurance for all families irrespective of their ethnicity, where all employers whether it is a big firm or small will be required to offer their employers health coverage allowances.
Advantages: This will encourage more women to access cancer treatment with the help of their insurance covers and hence reduce mortality rates.
Disadvantages: Not all hospitals will be willing to take the insurance covers and this may lead to a health crisis and it may not help reduce the mortality rates.
Recommendation and Justification
A breast cancer mortality rate is a matter that is greatly distressing black community, it is a problem because this is the community that has the lowest threats of developing the cancer and yet they are the ones that have the highest mortality rates. What this means is that, the few women that develop the cancer do not get the required medical care to help manage the conditions and this is mostly because of their poor social status as well as lack of knowledge on the cancer. The best way to manage this issue is to first create a way that these women can access medical care which will help them get frequent check-ups and also help in following up on the best treatment once they have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Insurance coverage in this case is the best strategy to help deal with this issue, offering of insurance covers that can be used to cover for mammograms and also for the breast cancer treatments will encourage more women to go for check-ups and also to get cancer treatments. This is something that the government can join hands with all other health programs and charities to help reduce black women mortality rates due to breast cancer at a very minimized cost.
Works cited
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