Two stories came out in recent days which can only be described as bad news for Asian Americans (photo by SLGCKGC).
A story in the Inquirer noted that breast cancer in the Filipino American community has gone up 6.5 percent over a five-year period.
Researchers do not know what has caused this increase.
Another story in California Healthline reported nearly half Korean American women are not getting regular mammograms.
This is according to a study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
Researchers suspect the low mammogram rate may be due to the high uninsured rate within the Korean American community.
As a husband of a breast cancer survivor, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of mammograms. Many in the medical community believe the rate of breast cancer in the Asian community is low. Unfortunately, they are relying on statistics from Asia, not from statistics aggregated from Asian Americans who live on a different diet and in a different environment with perhaps different stresses.
That’s why its also very important to figure out why breast cancer in the Filipino American community is trending up.
“We are actively recruiting women of Filipina descent to participate in a research study about how lifestyle, occupation, diet, exercise and family life may influence the risk of breast cancer,” said Scarlett Lin Gomez, Ph.D., who is leading the study at CPIC, the Cancer Prevention Institute of California.
You can find out more about the study and the need for participants to take part in a study in the Inquirer
You can read more about the UCLA findings in California Healthline.
Very sad stories and statistics. It is a dangerous disease that should be checked up regularly.
RE: Bad news about breast cancer for Asian American women: Agree, breast cancer is a killer that may occur in both women and men. Women are more predisposed to this disease and should undergo regular check ups as well as do regular self exams. Any lump or unusual condition should be screened as early detection of the disease increases the chances of being cured.