Susan G. Komen® and Health Equity: The 2015 Kelly Report and the Crisis in African-American Health Care

WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Calling breast cancer death rates in African-American women a “crisis
that cannot be ignored,” the president and CEO of the nation’s largest
breast cancer organization today praised U.S. Rep. Robin L. Kelly,
D-Ill., for addressing health equity for African-Americans in a
comprehensive new report.

Susan G. Komen President and CEO Dr. Judith A. Salerno’s comments came
in the 2015 Kelly Report on Health Disparities in America,
released today by Kelly, of Chicago, who leads the Congressional Black
Caucus Health Braintrust. The report addresses a wide range of issues
that disproportionately affect health outcomes in the African-American
community. Komen contributed to the report section on breast cancer.

Salerno noted that African-American women are less likely to be
diagnosed with breast cancer but are as much as 44 percent more likely
to die of it. “This reflects a wide range of genetic, cultural and
socio-economic issues, but one thing is clear: breast cancer mortality
rates in the African-American community constitute a health crisis that
cannot be ignored,” Salerno said in the report.

She called for equal access to high-quality cancer care and pointed to
Komen’s own efforts in addressing disparities in health outcomes for
African-Americans.

Salerno also cited the Chicago Metropolitan Breast Cancer Task Force as
an example of a program that is already helping to narrow the gap.
Founded in Chicago in 2007 with $1 million in Komen funding and
additional funding from the Avon Foundation and others, the Task Force
focused on quality of care at Chicago medical institutions, as well as
collaboration between hospitals, government, healthcare and nonprofit
organizations in the Chicago area. Komen has since contributed another
$1.6 million for the Task Force’s work.

“Breast cancer death rates in African-American women were an alarming 62
percent higher for women in Chicago’s most economically disadvantaged
neighborhoods versus more affluent areas of the region,” Salerno said.
“The work of the Task Force has resulted in a stunning 35 percent
reduction in the death rate gap between African-American women and white
women in the region.”

Salerno has identified health equity as a key priority for Komen. Komen
is convening roundtables of community, health care and nonprofit leaders
in 10 communities where disparities in breast cancer outcomes for
African-American women are greatest, such as Memphis, Los Angeles,
Washington, D.C., Chicago and Dallas. Komen also has invested more than
$90 million in scientific research to identify genetic and
socio-economic factors that lead to health disparities, and in 2015
alone has invested almost $25 million in community health programs
specifically targeting African-American women.

In addition to breast cancer, the Kelly Report addresses issues such as
obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and health care access in the
African-American community. “This grim snapshot illustrates that we have
much ground to cover in closing the health equity gap,” Kelly said.
“Your ethnicity, zip code, and bank balance should never determine your
health.”

The full report can be accessed here.

To learn more about breast cancer in African-American women and Komen’s
initiative, visit Susan G. Komen’s website here.

About Susan G. Komen®

Susan G. Komen is world’s largest breast cancer organization, funding
more breast cancer research than any other nonprofit while providing
real-time help to those facing the disease. Since its founding in 1982,
Komen has funded more than $847 million in research and provided $1.8
billion in funding to screening, education, treatment and psychosocial
support programs serving millions of people in more than 30 countries
worldwide. Komen was founded by Nancy G. Brinker, who promised her
sister, Susan G. Komen, that she would end the disease that claimed
Suzy’s life. Visit komen.org
or call 1-877 GO KOMEN. Connect with us on social at ww5.komen.org/social.

Contacts

Susan G. Komen
Andrea Rader, 972-855-4382
press@komen.org