African-American Media Resources

The rate of women getting or dying from breast cancer varies by race. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and second most common cause of cancer deaths among black women. At the time of diagnosis, blacks more often present with a higher stage of cancer. Although the death rate for breast cancer has declined over the past 20 years, the rate of decline has been slower for blacks. Black women are 1.4 times more likely to die from breast cancer than white women. Compared to whites, blacks have a lower rate of cancer survival for each stage of breast cancer at diagnosis. These differences have been partially explained by differences in types of tumors and access to treatment services.

All women are at risk for breast cancer, but getting regular mammograms can lower the risk of dying from breast cancer. Mammograms, an X-ray of the breast, are the best method to detect breast cancer early when it is easier to treat and before it is big enough to feel or cause symptoms. Having regular mammograms can lower the risk of dying from breast cancer. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has established the following guidelines for screening, but you should discuss how often you should get screened with your doctor:

If you are age 50 to 74 years, be sure to have a screening mammogram every two years. If you are age 40–49 years, talk to your doctor about when and how often you should have a screening mammogram.

CDC's National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program provides breast and cervical cancer screenings and diagnostic services to low-income, uninsured, and underinsured women across the United States. Let your readers know they can search for free and low-cost screenings in their state!

• Breast Cancer
• Find a Screening Provider
• American Cancer Society
• National Cancer Institute

Getting screened for some cancers can actually help prevent them from occurring. Screening also helps find other cancers—such as breast cancer—at an early stage, when treatment can be most effective. CDC's National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program provides access to critical breast and cervical cancer screening services for underserved women in the United States. Women can find out if they qualify for a free or low-cost mammogram or Pap test.

• CDC Breast Cancer Home Page
• CDC Cervical Cancer Home Page
• Formatted Article: CDC Encourages Screening for Breast, Cervical and Colorectal Cancers
• National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program

Type 2 diabetes is a disease that affects millions of people and their families—especially African Americans who are at an even higher risk for this serious chronic condition. An estimated 3.7 million or 14.7 percent of all non-Hispanic blacks age 20 and older have diabetes. While diabetes is a leading cause of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and kidney disease and can cause blindness and amputation of feet and legs, there is hope. People with diabetes can take steps to control the disease and lower their risks of complications. Studies have shown that people with pre-diabetes who lose weight, eat right and increase their physical activity can prevent or delay diabetes and return their blood glucose (blood sugar) levels to normal. Working together, people with diabetes, along with their support networks like family and church members, and their health care providers can reduce the occurrence of these and other diabetes complications. These preventive steps can control the levels of blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol when they are practiced in a timely manner. If you or a loved one has diabetes, the links below are just some of the resources about diabetes that puts the power to prevent and control diabetes into your hands.

• CDC Diabetes Home Page
• National Diabetes Education Program
• More Than 50 Ways to Prevent Diabetes
• Power to Prevent: A Family Lifestyle Approach to Diabetes Prevention [2.8 MB]

Hepatitis C is a contagious liver disease that results from infection with the hepatitis C virus. It can range in severity from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a serious, lifelong illness. Today, most people become infected with the hepatitis C virus by sharing needles or other equipment to inject drugs. Before 1992, when widespread screening of the blood supply began in the United States, hepatitis C was also commonly spread through blood transfusions and organ transplants. There is no vaccine for hepatitis C. The best way to prevent hepatitis C is by avoiding behaviors that can spread the disease, especially injection drug use.

• More about hepatitis C
• The difference between Acute and Chronic Hepatitis C
• How hepatitis C is spread
• How hepatitis C is treated

You might not realize that your father's diabetes or your cousin's sickle cell disease could affect your child, but knowing your family's medical history could help save your child′s life. Learn more about how family history includes these factors, can affect a person's health:

• Formatted Article: Collecting Your Family's Medical History Could Save Your Child′s Life
• Family History Awareness Feature
• Diseases and genetics links:
  • Heart disase
  • Autism
  • Stroke
  • Mental health
  • Obesity and genetics

HIV and AIDS have unfortunately hit African Americans particularly hard. Nearly half of the people who are infected with HIV/AIDS are African American. The reasons for this disparity are not directly related to race or ethnicity, but rather to some of the barriers faced by many African Americans. These barriers can include poverty (being poor), sexually transmitted diseases, and stigma (negative attitudes, beliefs, and actions directed at people living with HIV/AIDS or directed at people who do things that might put them at risk for HIV). CDC has developed a variety of helpful resources in response to this issue:

• HIV/AIDS and African Americans: includes charts and breakdowns of HIV/AIDS in African Americans versus other racial groups
• Fact Sheet: HIV/AIDS among African Americans
• Prevention Challenges Faced by African Americans
• The Heightened National Response to the HIV/AIDS Crisis among African Americans
• What African Americans Can Do
• Webcast: Mobilizing Against the HIV/AIDS Crisis Among African Americans