Missing the Mark: How Breast Cancer Guidelines Fail Black Women

The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recently released its long-anticipated guidelines on breast cancer screening, lowering the screening age from 50 years to 40 years biennially. However, there has been growing concern over the adequacy of breast cancer screening guidelines for Black women. Despite advances in medical knowledge and technology, these guidelines often fall short of addressing the unique needs and risks faced by Black women when it comes to breast cancer. In fact, although they are a step forward, these recommendations still fail Black women who are more likely to get breast cancer before 40 and have a 41 percent higher mortality rate from breast cancer than white women.  BlackDoctor.org spoke with Linda Goler Blount, president of the Black Women’s Health Imperative and steering committee member for the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research. As an epidemiologist, Blount shed light on why existing guidelines may not be sufficient and what steps can be taken to improve breast cancer screening outcomes for Black women. The Problem with Current Guidelines USPSTF made recommendations in 2009 and 2015 to raise the age of screening mammography from 40 to 50 years. This decision was based on the belief that the harms...