Latinas More Likely To Die Of Breast Cancer?

Latinas are about 20% more likely to die from breast cancer than white women, according to a new study presented at the Cancer Therapy & Research Center-American Assn. for Cancer Research San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. The Los Angeles Times reported:

But after adjusting for a number of factors, including age, cancer stage, lymph node involvement and estrogen receptor status (a marker used to determine cancer cell growth), the risk for Hispanic women was about the same as for white women.

Hispanic women who had chemotherapy were also about 1.5 times more likely to die from breast cancer compared with white women who also received the treatment.

This is an unfortunate addition to other bad health indicators we’ve reported on NewsTaco. Latinas are also:

• More likely to receive unnecessary breast cancer surgeries.
• Have a higher incidence of cervical cancer.
• Twice as high as the national average, actually.
• Less likely to be treated for breast cancer in the first place.