Breast cancer screening among African American women: addressing the needs of African American women with known and no known risk factors.

Breast cancer is the single most common form of cancer observed in African American women. Yet, in spite of the advances that have been made in the area of breast cancer detection and treatment, breast cancer continues to be their leading cause of cancer death. Many experts believe that breast cancer mortality among African American women could be significantly reduced if breast cancer screening recommendations were more effectively used. However, little is known about the breast cancer screening behaviors of women with known and no known risk factors. An exploratory study was therefore undertaken to gain a broader understanding of the breast cancer screening behaviors of African American women. Attempts were also made to determine if age, type of medical services used, breast cancer risk factors, or provider discussions influenced compliance with screening guidelines. Breast cancer screening procedures were found to be markedly under-used by the African American women in the study sample. However, the data suggested that if health care providers provide women with information regarding their personal breast cancer risk and make a personalized recommendation for their breast cancer screening, greater compliance with screening guidelines would occur.