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Black women are at higher risk of breast cancer. The new FDA ruling gives hope

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October is breast cancer awareness month. Black women are roughly 40% more more likely to die from breast cancer than white women and are more likely than white women to be diagnosed with breast cancer at younger ages, in later stages, and for more aggressive types of breast cancer.

Earlier this month US Food and Drug Administration issued a final rule that requires summaries of mammography results, including a press release of breast density, to be prepared at the start. This rule could save lives within the Black community because Black women are inclined to have denser breast tissue than white women, which might increase the risk of developing breast cancer and make it harder to identify early symptoms on a mammogram.

Susan G CommentsThe world’s leading breast cancer organization issued a press release on the new ruling: “Knowledge is power, and all women can now have informed conversations with their doctors about the right screening plan for them based on the factors that influence their risk of breast cancer.” including breast density,” Molly Guthrie, vp of policy and advocacy.

“Knowledge is power, and all women can now have informed conversations with their health care providers about the screening plan that is right for them based on factors that influence breast cancer risk, including breast density,” said Molly Guthrie, vp of policy and advocacy at Susan G. Komen. “This may mean that additional tests are recommended to accurately detect breast cancer.”

Breast density is a mammogram measurement of fibrous and glandular tissue, including the lobules and ducts that produce and transport milk, in comparison with fatty tissue within the breast. Dense breasts are common, affecting roughly 40-50% of U.S. women aged 40-74. However, breast density is just one factor that affects a girl’s risk of breast cancer. Age, gender, genetics, family health history and lifestyle aspects all play a big role in an individual’s overall risk. Women with very dense breasts are 4-5 times more more likely to develop breast cancer, and dense breast tissue can hide lumps on mammograms. Komen encourages women to refer to their health care providers about their breast density and whether additional breast imaging could also be appropriate for them.

By September 10, 2024, mammogram reports must include an assessment of breast density. The reports will include general findings – the breasts are dense or the breasts are not dense – and extra details concerning the density level:

  • Breasts are almost completely fatty (not dense)
  • Breasts have scattered areas of fibroglandular density (not dense)
  • Breasts are heterogeneously dense, which can obscure small masses (dense)
  • Breasts are extremely dense, which reduces the sensitivity of mammography (dense)

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), tens of millions of people have universal access to annual mammograms starting at age 40, without having to share the price for the patient. However, let’s assume that breast imaging is required along with screening mammography. When this happens, patients often face out-of-pocket costs of lots of and even hundreds of dollars, which poses a big financial barrier to accessing the care they need.

“We want everyone to know that dense breast tissue itself does not require additional imaging – it is just one risk factor for breast cancer,” Guthrie added. “For those who need imaging beyond mammography, out-of-pocket costs are often a barrier. That’s why we have advocated for state and federal legislation to eliminate these expenses. We have the technology to detect breast cancer earlier and save lives, and financial barriers should not stand in the way. It is crucial to understand and affordably access the breast imaging tests they need based on their individual risk.”

“The new federal breast density regulations provide women across the United States with meaningful and more consistent information concerning the density of their breasts. Women with very dense breasts are 4-5 times more more likely to develop breast cancer than women with fatty breasts, and a few studies show that black women are more more likely to have dense breasts. Breast cancer health disparities have a profound impact on Black women, and having more information may help women speak up for themselves and have informed conversations with their healthcare providers. Susan G. Komen encourages women to refer to their health care providers about breast density, in addition to their risk of developing breast cancer, and to contemplate which breast imaging test is correct for them,” said Natasha Mmeje, director of community education and outreach at Susan G. Komem.

The Susan G. Komen Center for Public Policy is working with state and federal lawmakers to pass laws that may eliminate out-of-pocket spending on imaging tests beyond screening mammography. So far 26 states have eliminated out-of-pocket costs patients covered by state medical health insurance plans for diagnostics and/or additional imaging tests. At the federal level Access to the act on breast cancer diagnosis has been introduced within the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, but is unlikely to be passed on this Congress. Komen calls for legislative motion to remove financial and administrative barriers to breast imaging, ensuring all patients can follow advisable screening guidelines based on their risk.

Additionally, Komen’s ongoing health equity initiative within the Black community, Stand for HER. This health equity revolution is a targeted initiative to scale back breast cancer disparities among the many Black community by 25%, starting in U.S. metropolitan areas where disparities are highest; read more Here.

This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
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Health and Wellness

Runner dedicates New York City Marathon to preventing gun violence

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Like the 50,000 other individuals who lined the starting line of the New York City Marathon on November 3, Trevon Bosley of Chicago was prepared to push his body to the limit over the 26.2-mile distance. Unlike them though Bosley dedicated his run to deceased relations and preventing the gun violence that took their lives.

Bosley’s cousin, Vincent Avant, was shot to death on a street near his family’s home in 2005, according to NBC News.

Then in 2021, Bosley’s brother, 18-year-old Terrell, was fatally shot outside the Lights of Zion Church in Chicago’s West Pullman neighborhood.

“It really shook up everything in the family,” Bosley told NBC News. The family stopped celebrating holidays and even listening to music. “We only started to find relief through preventive measures.”

Bosley was a mentor for the Chicago organization Bold Resistance Against Violence Everywhere (BRAVE), which organizes talent shows, basketball tournaments and other programs. This work led him to meet with victims of the 2018 Parkland, Florida, school shooting, where he shared stories about his group members’ experiences with gun violence in Chicago.

The Parkland school shooting ultimately led to the creation of March For Our Lives, a gun violence advocacy group founded by youth survivors of the shooting, of which Bosley is now co-chair.

Bosley told NBC News that to help him cope with the aftermath of his brother’s death, he took up running.

“I needed something to calm me down and take my mind off it,” he said. “I’ve heard people say that they find running relaxing and that it helps them.” Bosley said that running frequently “really started to clear my head and it just had a positive effect on me.”

Bosley participated within the New York City Marathon as a part of a bunch of runners representing Team Inspire, a bunch of 26 runners with various levels of marathon experience facilitated by the marathon organizing group, New York Road Runners.

While his thoughts were on his brother in the course of the race, his pre-race thoughts were also on Chicago, which has develop into embedded within the national imagination as a spot where gun violence is rampant.

Although gun violence has declined in recent times, Bosley said gun violence in Chicago is due to “many problems,” including an absence of funding for education for the town’s youth, an absence of workforce programs and an influx of weapons from friendly nations weapons.

“Indiana is only a 15-minute drive,” Bosley told NBC News. “So we have all these other issues that we’re trying to reduce in our community, and now we’re dealing with a flood of guns. This has caused the gun violence we see in Chicago.”

According to a 2022 research paper published in , Chicago is one among the cities where social violence interventionists are used.

In 2022, the town spent $50 million on these programs along side the $5 billion national commitment for community violence intervention programs under President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Act.


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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Health and Wellness

Tyler Lepley and Miracle Watts are engaged!

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One of the web’s hottest couples, Miracle Watts and Tyler Lepley, 37, are about to begin planning their wedding. Watts shared her engagement photo on Instagram, and the post has since gained nearly half one million likes.

The actress and social media personality captioned the photo with an engagement ring. The photo shows a white heart-shaped garland of flowers with the words “Will you marry me” in the center. Lepley smiled as he knelt on one knee, holding his future wife’s ring finger. The stars wore all black of their engagement photo and looked dazzling and joyful.

This engagement may come as a surprise to some fans, considering Miracle recently gained popularity after asking a matter about how long it should take a person to marry a girl during Q&A on her YouTube canal.

“I have a question. Do you think it is disrespectful for a man not to marry a woman after being with her for a certain number of years if they both agree to it? marriage is something they need?” she asked in a YouTube video.

Answering her own query, Watts replied, “Yes. I do. Yes, and we’re getting near that time… Better get your act together.

Lepley told a social media commenter on the time that the engagement was “closer than you think” and lower than six months later he popped the query. The actor has actually pulled himself together and is doing all the things in his power to make the matter official.

The engaged couple met on the set of P-Valley in 2021 and since then they’ve been like two cents in a pod. Over the years, we have seen them share glimpses of their love, whether it was Tyler washing Miracle’s braids, vacationing in Bermuda, or popping up at a club.

They now even have a tangible piece of their love; the couple gave birth to their first child together, a boy named Xi Leì Lepley, in October 2022.

The actor also has two children, Leo and Jade, together with his ex April King.

Congratulations to the couple and we will not wait to see their story unfold live!

This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
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Health and Wellness

Indigenous people are 4 times more likely to die from diabetes. We need to better understand how exercise can help

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It is estimated that just about 1.9 million Australians suffer from diabetes, and the variety of these people is increasing. In the years 2013–2023, the whole variety of people with diabetes in the whole country increased by 32%.

As within the case of a series health conditionsdiabetes disproportionately affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Indigenous Australians are three times more likely diagnosed with diabetes than non-Indigenous Australians. Are 4.4 times more likely die from this.

Among other things, physical activity plays a very important role in stopping and treating type 2 diabetes. However, our latest study, published within the journal Medical Journal of Australiashows that we do not know enough concerning the role of physical activity in stopping and managing type 2 diabetes in First Nations people.

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a condition wherein it occurs an excessive amount of glucose (sugar) within the blood. There are several types of diabetes, but probably the most common is type 2 diabetes. In people with type 2 diabetesthe body becomes resistant to the motion of insulin – a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels.

Risk aspects for type 2 diabetes include a family history of diabetes, being obese and hypertension.

The high rate of diabetes in indigenous communities is essentially influenced by… social determinants of health. For example, we all know food insecurity disproportionately affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, particularly in rural and distant communities. This can make it difficult to stick to a healthy food regimen, which in turn affects your overall health.

People in distant indigenous communities in addition they often have poorer access to education and employment opportunities, adequate housing and high-quality health care. All these aspects can contribute to worsening health.

First Nations communities do especially high stakes younger onset type 2 diabetes (often defined as diagnosis before the age of 40).

If diabetes shouldn’t be treated effectively, it can lead to numerous complicationsincluding long-term damage to the guts, kidneys, eyes and feet. Diabetes can affect all elements of an individual’s life, including their life sanity.

People with diabetes need to monitor their blood sugar levels.
Krakenimages.com/Shutterstock

Lifestyle interventions (food regimen and physical activity) are generally really helpful as a part of the treatment plan. for type 2 diabetes.

We wanted to understand how physical activity interventions could help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with diabetes.

Our research

There is powerful evidence that it plays more than simply a task in stopping diabetes exercise is helpful for people already diagnosed type 2 diabetes.

Physical activity is related to lower levels glycated hemoglobin within the blood (an indicator of glucose control), reduced levels of lipids within the blood equivalent to cholesterol, and weight reduction. The evidence suggests a mix aerobic and resistance exercises could also be better than either mode alone.

We reviewed research examining the impact of physical activity interventions and programs on the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes amongst First Nations Australians.

We only found nine studies that investigated physical activity interventions to prevent or manage type 2 diabetes in Indigenous adults.

There is evidence linking physical activity with improved outcomes for Indigenous Australians with type 2 diabetes. However, the worth of the outcomes was affected by weaknesses within the study design and the shortage of Indigenous involvement within the design and conduct of the studies.

A man running along the road.
Exercise is very important in stopping and treating type 2 diabetes.
sutadimages/Shutterstock

The high-quality evidence gap

There are many elements of stopping and managing diabetes that tend to be more difficult for people in First Nations communities, especially those living in rural or distant areas.

Additionally, latest technologies that can help manage diabetes, equivalent to continuous glucose monitorsare often very expensive.

It is incredibly vital what Indigenous Australians with diabetes have access to appropriate support for diabeticseducation and services.

In particular, health, cultural, and socioeconomic differences may impact participation in physical activity. What constitutes realistic exercise opportunities may differ for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people compared to other Australians.

Previous data has shown that Indigenous Australians are less likely to socialize recommendations for physical activity than non-Indigenous Australians.

Factors that will influence physical activity levels amongst First Nations people include access to protected, accessible, family-friendly, and inexpensive places to exercise. These could also be limited in regional and distant communities.



Overall, we found a scarcity of reliable data on whether and what kinds of exercise may profit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with type 2 diabetes.

Given that physical activity is the cornerstone of treatment for type 2 diabetes, we need more rigorous research on this area. These studies should be well designed and culturally appropriate. They must engage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in any respect levels of the research process.

Targeted research will help us discover the perfect ways to increase physical activity and understand its advantages for Indigenous people with type 2 diabetes.

This article was originally published on : theconversation.com
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