The Black Informant | African American Commentary, News and Community Building

Many Black Women Refuse Breast Cancer Treatments

FRIDAY, May 22 (HealthDay News) — Almost 25 percent of black women with advanced breast cancer refuse the chemotherapy and radiation treatments that could save their lives, a new study finds.

Black women have almost twice the rate of advanced breast cancer as white women do, largely because the disease is often diagnosed after it has already progressed. In addition, some black women have misconceptions about cancer and are reluctant to seek medical help, the researchers said. (more…)

My guess would be that poverty may play a major role in this. But if that is the case, how do we explain the following?

Education Program Spurs Blacks to Take Blood Pressure Meds

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 12 (HealthDay News) — A patient education program that included encouragement and occasional gifts improved medication adherence — taking medicines consistently and correctly — among black Americans with high blood pressure, a new study found.
“African-Americans have been shown in some studies to be nearly twice as likely to not take their medicines when compared to Caucasians,” study lead author Dr. Olugbenga Ogedegbe, an associate professor of medicine at New York University School of Medicine, said in an American Heart Association news release.

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Blacks more likely to leave hospital against advice

Along with race, other factors appeared to increase the risk of patients checking out against medical advice. Patients receiving Medicaid, the government health insurance program for the poor, were three times more likely than patients with private insurance to self-discharge. Also at greater risk were patients on Medicare, the federal insurance program for older Americans. Younger patients self-discharged more often than older patients, and men did so more often than women.

Even with factors like insurance and income considered, however, African-American race was still independently linked to a higher risk of self-discharge. Figuring out why this is, and how to address the discrepancy, will be important, according to Ibrahim’s team.

How does “healthcare for everybody” help people who either are not taking their meds or self-discharge UNDER CURRENT GOVERNMENT HEALTH CARE despite doctor’s wishes?