October 17, 2018 The Skanner Portland & Seattle Page 7
Cancer Awareness Month
Black Women are 40 Percent More Likely to Die from Breast
Cancer than White Women
‘Know Your Girls’ aims to educate Black women
about their breast cancer risk to address disparities
NEW YORK – Black
women in the U.S. are 40
percent more likely to
die from breast cancer
than White women, and
a recent study found that
while 92 percent of Black
women agree breast
health is important, only
25 percent of women
have recently discussed
breast health with their
family, friends, or col-
leagues and only 17 per-
cent have taken steps to
understand their risk for
breast cancer. To address
the disparity in breast
cancer mortality rates,
Susan G. Komen and the
Ad Council launched
Know Your Girls, a na-
tional campaign to ed-
ucate and inspire Black
women to understand
their risk for breast can-
cer and take charge of
their breast health.
Black women are more
likely to be diagnosed
with
breast
cancer
younger, at later stages
and with more aggres-
sive forms of the disease,
limiting treatment op-
tions.
“As a breast cancer sur-
vivor who lost her moth-
er to breast cancer, I un-
derstand all too well the
pain and heartbreak of
this disease,” said Paula
Schneider, President and
CEO of Susan G. Komen.
“We hope this campaign
empowers Black wom-
en to learn about breast
cancer risk and the re-
sources available to take
action.”
The Know Your Girls
campaign
encourages
Black women, ages 30-55
years old, to treat their
breasts with the same
attentiveness and under-
standing they share with
the women in their lives.
“The Know Your Girls
campaign
introduces
breast cancer education
through a celebration of
the powerful sisterhood
between Black wom-
en,” said Lisa Sherman,
President and CEO of
the Ad Council. “Instead
of focusing on fear, the
campaign provides tools
and information that
can help Black women
feel ownership around
their breast health and
encourages the sharing
of those resources and
messages with the wom-
en who support them
throughout their lives.”
The campaign video,
created pro bono by
award-winning creative
agency
Translation,
features vignettes of a
woman at key moments
throughout her life. At
each occasion, she is sur-
rounded by her girls, the
friends and family who
have always been her
source of support and
strength. At the end, the
woman reveals that the
“girls” who have been
with her in every single
moment of her life, her
breasts, are in fact the
ones she might know the
least.
“The staggering breast
cancer mortality rates
amongst women of color
— amongst Black wom-
en — is unacceptable,”
said Steve Stoute, Found-
er and CEO of Transla-
tion. “Breast cancer has
touched so many of our
loved ones, our peers,
and our neighbors, in-
cluding my wife who lost
her dear sister to this
crippling disease. Cre-
ating a healthy dialogue
between women of col-
or, their fears, and their
breasts is a critical step
towards
eradication.
This campaign aims to do
just that, while speaking
directly to her inner con-
scious.”
The campaign includes
TV, radio, print, out-of-
home, and digital PSAs
which direct women to
K n o w Yo u r G i rl s . o r g .
The website features re-
sources that help women
navigate breast cancer
risk factors, recognize
changes in their own
breasts, and prepare to
have a conversation with
a doctor.
The campaign also in-
cludes social media chan-
nels, launched in col-
laboration with digital
marketing agency Good
Stuff Digital, that aim to
create an online commu-
nity where Black wom-
en can come together to
talk honestly and openly
about their breast health
and show support for
their sisters.
The Know Your Girls
campaign will help Su-
san G. Komen work to
achieve their Bold Goal
to reduce the current
40,000 annual breast
cancer deaths by 50 per-
cent in the U.S. by 2026.
Through their African
American Health Equity
Initiative, Komen is al-
ready working to reduce
the mortality gap be-
tween Black women and
White women by 25 per-
cent, focusing first on the
10 cities where mortality
rates and late-stage di-
agnosis of Black women
are highest: Memphis, St.
Louis, Long Beach/Los
Angeles Metro Area, Dal-
las/Fort Worth/Arling-
ton Metro Area, Virginia
Breast Cancer Survivors, Who Lose
Muscle Mass, Can Benefit From
Strength Training, Studies Suggest
By Lynn Panton and Ashley Artese
For The Conversation
reast cancer research has result-
ed in treatment that has greatly
improved survival rates. As a re-
sult, there are 3.1 million breast
cancer survivors alive in the United
States today. The five-year survival rate
is about 90 percent. This is great news.
But, survivors are still left to struggle
with many adverse side effects from the
disease and cancer treatments, which
include surgery, radiation, chemother-
apy and hormonal suppression drugs
that are used to suppress hormones
that may have fueled the breast cancer.
Particularly worrisome side effects
are accelerated losses in bone mineral
density and muscle mass – with gains
B
in fat mass. These changes can lead to
osteoporosis and fractures, as well as
lower strength, decreases in physical
function, and becoming overweight
and obese, which can lead to poorer
survival rates.
These side effects can ultimately re-
duce overall quality of life and increase
the risk for chronic disease and disabil-
ity in breast cancer survivors.
Over the last 10 years, our laboratory
has been evaluating the effects of exer-
cise interventions, specifically resis-
tance-type exercise on muscle mass, fat
mass, bone mineral density, strength,
physical function and quality of life in
breast cancer survivors.
Survivors, already tough, get tougher
See CANCER on page 11
To address the disparity in breast cancer mortality rates, Susan G. Komen and the Ad Council launched
Know Your Girls, a national campaign to educate and inspire Black women to understand their risk for
breast cancer and take charge of their breast health
Beach, Atlanta, Chicago,
Houston, Washington,
D.C. and Philadelphia. In
some cities, the disparity
in breast cancer mortal-
ity rate between Black
and White women is as
high as 74%.
The Know Your Girls
PSAs were directed by
A.V. Rockwell, who has
created short films like
Feathers and The Gospel,
and include singer Alicia
Keys’ hit song “You Don’t
Know My Name.” To am-
plify its message, the
campaign is partnering
with Coming to America
actress and breast cancer
survivor Vanessa Bell
Calloway, who provides
the voiceover for the
PSAs, celebrity stylist
June Ambrose, actress
and comedian Regina
Hall, E! News co-anchor
Zuri Hall, and others.
Facebook and WWE
have both signed on to
support the campaign
through global media as-
sets.
“The Susan G Komen
#KnowYourGirls cam-
paign is not only hip,
youthful, and timely,
but it’s essentially very
important for all wom-
en, young and mature,”
said actress and breast
cancer survivor Vanes-
sa Bell Calloway. “I’m so
happy to be a part of this
important campaign, be-
cause, as a breast cancer
survivor, I understand
firsthand how important
it is to know your girls,
literally and figuratively.
Being in tune with your
girls can save your life.
Know Your Girls can
also mean know your re-
al-life girlfriends and, as
a community of women,
help remind each other
about the importance of
breast health.”
To learn more about
the
campaign,
visit
KnowYourGirls.org or
join the conversation
using #KnowYourGirls
on Facebook, Instagram,
and Twitter.