LatinaLista — A new study reveals that more Latinas take the initiative to conduct self breast exams. Yet, when a lump is found, we tend to wait at least a month before doing anything.
Why aren’t more Latinas running to the doctor and making an appointment?
Is it because:
A. Latinas are too busy.
B. Latinas just light a candle to the Virgin and pray things will be ok?
C. Latinas don’t care.
D. It takes a month for Latinas to make sure it’s a lump?
E. Latinas don’t fully understand the gravity of finding a lump in the breast?
F. Latinas are waiting till they get paid because they have no health insurance?
Obviously, the likely two answers are E and F.
Researchers from The University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health found that:
Two-thirds of breast cancers in Hispanic women are discovered by accident, while only 23 percent come to light through a mammography and another 6 percent through a clinical exam. Yet screening mammography rates were 83 percent among U.S.-born Hispanic women and 62 percent among non-U.S.-born Hispanic women.
So while the allegation has been made in the past that Latinas are not diligent about our health, we see now that it’s untrue.
Yet with more and more people losing their jobs and health benefits, the prospect of paying for lifesaving treatment with money one doesn’t have will become a real dilemma — not just for Latinas but every woman.
The idea is to catch the disease early by doing those self-examinations and go to the doctor, work out a payment plan and start treatment. It’s a lot cheaper to treat something in the early stages than to wait till it’s full-blown — and far more deadly!
