The Influence of Social Determinants on Late Stage Breast Cancer for Women in Mississippi.

Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common diagnosed cancer in women exacting an emotional and economic hardship for them and their families. There are no known causes of breast cancer, but there are certain genetic, social, and environment risk factors that pre-dispose women to this disease. Also, diagnosis at later stages of disease has been shown to have adverse outcomes for many as compared to early stages.

Addressing Breast Cancer Health Disparities in the Mississippi Delta Through an Innovative Partnership for Education, Detection, and Screening.

Projects to reduce disparities in cancer treatment and research include collaborative partnerships and multiple strategies to promote community awareness, education, and engagement. This is especially needed in underserved areas such as the Mississippi Delta where more women are diagnosed at regional and distant stages of breast cancer. The purpose for this project was to increase the relatively low screening rate for African American women in the Mississippi Delta through a partnership between the Mississippi Network for Cancer Control and Prevention at The University of Southern Mississippi, The Fannie Lou Hamer Cancer Foundation and the Mississippi State Department of Health to decrease health disparities in breast cancer through increased awareness on self-early detection methods, leveraging resources to provide mammography screenings, and adequate follow-up with services and treatment for abnormal findings.

Association of the joint effect of menopause and hormone replacement therapy and cancer in African American women: the Jackson Heart Study.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the US and in Mississippi. Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer among women, and the underlying pathophysiology remains unknown, especially among African American (AA) women. The study purpose was to examine the joint effect of menopause status (MS) and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on the association with cancers, particularly BC using data from the Jackson Heart Study.