Breast Cancer

Ending Disparities in Care

No breast cancer is the same, and the same goes for the effects of the treatment patients receive. For example, nerve damage from chemotherapy is typical. Yet, Schneider discovered a genetic culprit that can make Black patients more likely to experience it. As a result, chemotherapy doses are lowered or even stopped because of this painful side effect, a contributor to why Black women are more likely than White women to die from breast cancer. He designed a clinical trial to confirm genetic risk for neuropathy and determine the most appropriate chemotherapy to treat women who carry the gene. This trial has made history as the first of its kind specifically focused on Black women with breast cancer.

Photo of breast cancer researcher Tarah Ballinger, MDIU research also suggests that obesity among Black women increases the odds their disease will return and increases mortality from the disease. It’s just one insight from Tarah Ballinger, MD, who also found obesity among White women did not have the same consequences. Understanding this disparity is driving further research.

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