LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — This Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I want to shed light on the disparities of the disease. Breast cancer is a battle so many women unfortunately face, and while survival rates have improved overall with increasing awareness and developments in medicine, Black women in particular still face higher mortality rates.
I spoke with two local survivors who are working to change that through advocacy, education, and sharing their lived experiences.
WATCH | Meet Alyce Brown and Dr. Katrina Haslett, two women fighting for change and educating others on early screening
Alyce Brown
Alyce Brown is someone who never shied away from getting her screenings.
"I was 69 years old," Brown recalls. "I did my regular mammograms and screenings every year, like they say."
When she got her mammogram back in 2017, she said the doctor's office called her back in, saying they found "a little something." A biopsy and an ultrasound later, she learned it was breast cancer. She had no known history of the disease in her family.
"Back then, you think cancer, you think death sentence. I'm afraid now," she remembers.
Putting her fears aside, she paid close attention to what her doctors told her, and leaned on the support of her family throughout her battle with the disease.
"The chemo is just, my daughter used to cry every time. She said, 'Mom, you're putting all this poison in your system.' My son wouldn't even go. He would drop me off because he couldn't stand seeing me hooked up to anything," Brown said.
Now, she's celebrating 8 years cancer free.
"The most important thing is early detection because the earlier you go in, the better your chances of survival, and I'm proof of that," she beamed.
That's the message she's shared with hundreds of women now, through her work with the nonprofit B&A Entertainment Services. She goes out into local communities in Southern Nevada and educates other Black women about breast cancer and the importance of screenings.
The goal is to save lives, as Black women are 38% more likely to die from breast cancer than White women, despite slightly lower incidence rates, according to a scientific article published in the American Cancer Society's flagship journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
"I have learned so much about the disparity. The Black community, a lot of the women we are reaching right now, they don't want to know. And I say, 'Don't you want to live? Why wouldn't you want to know?' It takes less time than it takes to get your nails done to go have a mammogram," she said.
"It seems that as a survivor yourself, you felt a responsibility to then become an advocate. Why is that?" I asked her.
"Absolutely. My faith, mostly. You help one, you teach one, you bring one in. If I can help anybody, even if it's just one person get through what I went through," she replied.
In her role as an advocate and certified community health worker now, she not only educates and advocates for local Black women, but she even goes to appointments with women who are in need of a support system, or even just need a little push to go and get their screenings.
"We're there to dispel all of the myths and all the excuses. If you've got an excuse, I've got something for you, I do. I've got something. There's no excuse. 'I don't have a way to go.' Okay, I'll come pick you up. What's next?" she said.
Her biggest advice to women who are just now getting diagnosed?
"I just really want them to know, take a deep breath. Take a breath. Do what the doctor tells you to do. If it doesn't sound right to you, ask questions. Call us," she said.
To get in touch with B&A Entertainment Services, you can email baentserviceslv@gmail.com or call 702-366-6234.
Dr. Katrina Haslett, MD, FACOG
For local OB/GYN Dr. Katrina Haslett, it was actually her pushing someone else to get their mammogram that led to her own diagnosis a decade ago.
In 2015, she said her own mother, who'd battled breast cancer prior, was reluctant to get her mammogram.
"I was mad at her, because she hadn't had one in like 5 years. And I was like, ugh, fussing. 'I'll go with you. See, it's not bad?' And then her results came back negative — and mine came back positive," Dr. Haslett said.
The diagnosis had her in disbelief.
"It was invasive carcinoma of the breast. And I was floored. Like me? Me?" she said.
She said it was difficult, going from doctor to patient. She'd been a nurturer all her life, but now it was time to let someone else nurture her.
"You have to stop and let someone else take care of you and you have to trust. That journey also made me a better physician," she said.
Given her personal experience and medical expertise in women's health, I asked her why she thinks Black women face higher mortality rates from breast cancer. Similar to Alyce Brown, she said there's often a fear of knowing. Knowing makes it real. She added, Black women also historically struggle to put their needs first.
"It's that we probably get care or seek care much later in the game than most people. We are taking care of hearth and home, our people, our loved ones and we don't really take care of ourselves or even pay attention to those things," Dr. Haslett said. According to the CDC, breast cancer is often diagnosed at later stages and is more aggressive in African American women than in White women.
She also said healthcare access could be a factor.
"I definitely think there's a lack of access and sometimes the lack of access comes from a lack of knowledge of what is available to you," Dr. Haslett said.
I also asked her about potential mistrust of the healthcare system, which can sometimes present itself in marginalized communities due to decades of inequities. She said more representation in the medical field could help bridge that gap and get more Black women screened and proactive about their health.
"It really does help when you see someone like you taking care of you," she said.
She said the bottom line is, it's better to get ahead of health problems, instead of trying to catch up. While her message to all of her patients, regardless of their background, is still the same, she now knows firsthand the power of it: Get screened, because it might just save your life.