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The Truth About...: The Truth About Cancer: The USA’s Deadly Racial Divide: Black women and Breast Cancer

Factual: Science & Nature

The USA’s Deadly Racial Divide – black women & breast cancer

03/07/2017 GMT

The USA’s Deadly Racial Divide: Black women and Breast Cancer

The Truth About Cancer

BBC World Service - The Truth About..., The Truth About Cancer, The USA’s Deadly Racial Divide: Black women and Breast Cancer

Why are more black women more likely to die of breast cancer in the US?

Why are more black women more likely to die of breast cancer in the US? Anu Anand explores the reasons behing this trend.

If you are a black woman with breast cancer in Los Angeles you are 75% more likely to die than a white woman and the gap is growing. These devastating differences in survival rates are repeated across the US, suggesting that African-American women are missing out on life-saving treatment.

Anu Anand investigates the poor care on offer in parts of LA and she reports from Chicago, where similar disparities a decade ago sparked a city-wide initiative to close the deadly divide. She explores what might be causing the racial death gap and whether Chicago’s attempts to close it could provide a model for other parts of the US.

(Photo: Female Hands Holding Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon. Credit: CatLane)

Producer: Fiona Hill

The Truth About...: The Truth About Cancer

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The Truth About...

The Truth About Cancer

The USA’s Deadly Racial Divide: Black women and Breast Cancer

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