Image is a courtesy of Susan G Komen
By Roslyn Anderson/WLBT
Video from 3 years ago/You Tube
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – According to the American Cancer Society, more than 290,000 women were diagnosed with breast cancer last year.
Friday was the launch of the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Kickoff with a new focus — the alarming number of African American women being impacted by the disease.
Women diagnosed with breast cancer are in the fight of their lives and the American Cancer Society is raising funds for that battle.
Dozens of survivors attended the Making Strides Kickoff Celebration at the Hilton.
“We expect this year in 2024 about 2,700 people to be diagnosed,” said Adrienne Russell, nurse navigator at Baptist Cancer Center. “Because our mortality rate is higher, that leads us to think that some women are not getting screened and finding breast cancer at a later stage.”
“I want our young black women to know that they are our future,” said Teresa Mackey.
The 50-year-old American Cancer Society Ambassador was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer in 2020 and is encouraging African American women to enroll in a study examining why they have higher rates of breast cancer and higher death rates.
“This study is going to help us identify those factors to figure out why we’re being diagnosed with breast cancer and why we can’t survive, why we die so quickly. Our death rate is 40 to 41 percent higher,” said Mackey.
The event included inspirational testimonies from survivors, supporters, and donors spreading awareness to raise money for those impacted in Central Mississippi.
Teams are signing up now for the country’s second-largest event, the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk, on October 26 at Trustmark Park.
#BreastCancerAwareness #MakingStrides #KickoffCelebration
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