Black Women And Breast Cancer

(CBS)  Nicole Sudler was a 28-year-old single mother when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

"I was shocked," she said. "And I was very, very afraid."

Sudler had one of the deadliest and most aggressive forms of breast cancer. Some researchers are calling it "triple negative."

"It kind of made me feel like 'Oh, God, my life is going to be over.' You know, dating, it's not going to happen anymore. Getting married? Probably not," Sudler said.

This kind of cancer is a triple threat because it strikes early; it's resistant to standard drug treatments; and more likely to kill. Its primary targets are young African-American women. Black women under the age of 50 are 77 percent more likely to die from the disease than white women of all ages.

Patients like Sudler compel Dr. Funmi Olopade of the University of Chicago to figure out what is going on.

"I'm motivated to go back to my lab and figure out: Why did that 20-year-old woman get breast cancer?" Olopade said.

Her quest for answers took Olopade back to her native Nigeria, where she's discovered that African women share the same genetic predisposition to triple negative breast cancer.

"Our work in Africa suggests it may also be more common for more women in Africa," said Olopade.

That may seem like a simple answer to what's causing a serious problem. But when it comes to race and medicine, nothing is simple.

"Race is not a scientifically determined category in the first place," said Dr. Harold Freeman of the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention.

Poverty, culture and social injustice, not genetics, are behind the disparity, according to Freeman, who is also a senior advisor to the National Cancer Institute.

The question is: Is it related to being black in and of itself, or is it related to the circumstances under which people live?

Freeman fears suggesting there's a genetic basis for the disease will revive racist ideas that blacks are biologically different and inferior. Olopade says it's time to move forward.

"I think, actually, genetics gets us to look beyond race," said Olopade.

For women like Nicole Sudler, any research that sheds new light on the deadly disease is welcome.

"Help us with the research. We want to live, too," she said.

[dvsudler]

I''m a 40 yr old black woman with stage 3 breast cancer currently undergoing treatment. I have breast cancer history on both my maternal and paternal sides of the family. Ironically I have an estranged sister, Nicole Sudler. Nikki, if you''re originally from Wilmington, DE - please get in touch with me, via [e-mail]. If this is not Nikki from Delaware, by all means keep the faith, stay positive and GOD Bless.

[mook1995]

kailumego1 asked "I''''m interested to know what type of aggressive form of breast cancer are you referencing that has such an early age of onset predominately in African American women?"

I had "triple-negative" breast cancer It means that your pathology states that the tumor is estrogen receptor-negative, progesterone receptor-negative and HER2-negative

MY prognosis is good (thank GOD) but that is actually rare. Triple neg is one of the most agressive. if you look in the clip, Dr. Olopade shows mammograms of a woman with 3-neg one form 2005, one from early 2006, the young lady died in late 2006 a little over a year after diagnosis. I had my breasts removed to "lessen my risk of tumor growth". I found the lump in early 2004(it hadn''t been there 2 months before. My pathology report said cancer had spread to 6 of 13 lymph nodes (in a matter of a couple of MONTHS!!)

They say it is predominant amongst black women (specifically of Nigerian decent) When stratified by race, 46.6% of black women had triple-negative tumors, compared with 21.7% of white women (P .001), even after adjustment for age and stage of disease at diagnosis. "This translated to a 2.71-fold increase in risk for black women," Dr. Lund said.

[cmp271]

Any disease that has to do with women is overlooked unless it affects men!!

In the world of medicine women don''t count!!!

When are women going to wake up to this fact.

Why do you think birth control wasn''t covered by insurance, yet viagara sure is???

We need women in medicine, and women to speak up to their HMO''s and congress to get some action about this.

[Netterz]

AS Nicole stated, she was interviewed and spoke for 45 min, but only a few of her words were used, and obviously strategically as usual, by the media. I am white, 40 yo and have aggressive BC as well. I wish, they would work for a cure, instead of studies such as this. ANYONE of any race, gender, age, can get cancer. BILLIONS are made daily in treatment, and as long as that money train keeps going full bore, CURE will stay on the back burner. They ONLY test for the mutations IF the insurance co''s decide that its neccessary. I wasted 6 weeks on testing that HAD to go thru, ot they would refuse to pay. Its evil and dangerous, when your care is tossed into a box, and your insurance determines when and how you will be treated. NOT you and your doctor. This waste of time, costs lives. I lost my dad, uncle and a 45 yr old friend in the past 4 months. How long are we gong to sit back and let them dictate our health care? You and your doc have no control. No one realizes ths until you face cancer. Its very scary.

[kailumego1]

mook1995, I''m interested to know what type of aggressive form of breast cancer are you referencing that has such an early age of onset predominately in African American women?

And what is your prognosis?

Also, does this mean there''s a connection between Nigerian women and this aggressive form of breast cancer, or the entire Western African population?

And if this is exclusive to Nigerian women is it safe to assume that African American women diagnosed with this rare and deadly form of cancer have Nigerian ancestry?

Because as you well know, Europeans obtained African slaves from 15+ different countries in West Africa--so therefore, are researchers stating all African American women are susceptible or only those whose ancestry is from designated regions, i.e. Nigeria.

[oakishpines]

'' ...

had a million dollars wanted ten million, not one million dollar film, or 1000 $1000, but 100 million kids with free medical you are here map song dance skit kits, to make a hundred million dollars for nothing

me verse the world i deserve 99%, the world occupys 99% space time so deserves 99%, so 50% / 50% may be rational and equitable shareing of my market share

210 million represents the richest 3% with over 95% of wealth, poverty lines range $2 to $60 each work day, so giving to 440 to 730,000 each workday for tips of a penny to a dollar from 1/2 % to 11 % of folk marketed to


6 or 10 billion folk is 90,000 counties of 90,000 folk is 300 trail groups of 300 folk, girls get bored and move each 20 seconds to 20 nminutes so i not call them communities?)

$12,000 per year poverty line will buy $60,000 of 2500 sf land and 340 sf home

2500 sqft (50 ft x 50 ft) is 200 lineal feet perimeter, 2.2 to 3650 ''grapes'' per lineal foot (grapes as example or seaweed / algae song / dance art / craft wutever)


... if only 2500 square feet could float like some kind of spore bloom weed dragon tinkering densitys and surface areas and such ...


trails of life is more like kindergarten class, what do you like what do you want to do this that ok well show you how now like this now like that now like this now like that

... ''

[mook1995]

It concerns me that you made this very serious situaton an argument and/or debate
"I lost two young female friends to breast cancer, one age 15, and another age 17, many years ago. They were caucasians. Is cancer now a racial issue?"
My question would be, was it this TYPE of breast cancer???
I received genetic testing and it shows that i DO INDEED have a genetic mutation which causes me and many of the women in my family to be diagnosed with this EXACT SAME TYPE of breast cancer. No one is minimalizing your loss of your two VERY YOUNG friends many years ago. But today, we are talking about ths...

There is another form of breast cancer that is being researched that appears to be targeting Jewish women...

I think ALL of these should be investigated...

There are some things wheteher we want to admit it or not that affect us differently because of our genetic make up... thats just the way it is...

[mook1995]

Hello everyone...

I am the girl in the video. I am Nicole Sudler...

I must let you guys know that i was talked to for about 45 minutes. There were 2 quotes in this segment from me.

I was offended that "drivelphobe" made this comment
"When she finds out she has a very aggressive form of breast cancer, her first concern was that with her life in danger of ending, she might not date again? What priorities"

My dear friend, my priorities are in order... I talked about my son, I talked about how I survived through plenty of prayer AND the fact that I have a GENIUS for a doctor. I talked about how my life was differnent. They asked me what i thought about having my BREASTS REMOVED at age 28 and that is wehen i made the comment that I felt my life as I knew it would be over and that dating and getting married would be out of the question.

Prayer and my relationship with GOD caused me to not fear deaath. I am not afraid that i am going to die even though I was diagnosed with one of the most deadly and agressive forms of cancer...

[toldyouso21]

Should the real question be what any racial group gets or should we look closer at where, and under what conditions diseases seem to thrive? As Scientists, we have to look beyond race--because no matter what "rate" we claim any group gets non-genetic disease at, the fact is if a disease can infect one race, it certainly has no problem spreading to the others. Physiologically, and at a biocellular level, humans are all the same--what is different is how one lives, stress factors, what each eats, what people are exposed to.

Every experiment at any level of science is set up with controls. Controls are parameters which help shape and determine the outcome of testing. This are what are considered the normal measures or what everything else is challenged against. In the case of cancers, we need to look at the natural controls and see what is standard or always present around those who contract the disease. What we know is NOT always the same is the race or even age of the patient--so we can play the race game and pretend the rest of us have fewer worries or....we can look at physical enviromental and physiological anomalies and see something larger than skin color. Like what''s in the water, the food, exposure to drugs and chemicals, exposure to high fats or chemical food additives, etc.

[toldyouso21]

Many scientists link cancers to environment and the foods we eat. There are always whites and other minorities in black neighborhoods also. Has any study of breast cancer been done by demographics instead of race? How about done by persons living in places with suspect water or high amounts of asbestos or lead paint? How about studies on people who eat a lot of fast food or high fat food*

Iowa has the highest rate of leukemias in the US. Why? could it be the high use and widespread range of Pesticides used in farming? Many Iowans, farmers or not--swear by 2-4 D for killing off weeds. Often it is used to clear weeds on highways, etc. Yet 2-4 D has been linked to cancer in a number of animals even at low levels and is on the EPA alert list...

* animal fat tissue is the largest repository for residual poisons, drugs, hormones, etc--many cultures love to eat fatty meat

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