Topic: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Breast cancer in the United States
This presentation will explore the issue of racial/ethnic disparities in breast cancer stage at diagnosis and survival in the United States. Although White women have a much higher age-adjusted incidence of breast cancer, Black women have a higher rate of breast cancer mortality. In addition, women of color are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer at a late stage, when treatments are more invasive and less successful. This, however, does not explain all of the Black/White disparity in breast cancer mortality because even within stage categories, Black women have significantly worse survival than White women. A review of some of the theories and research findings on this topic will be presented, along with some original population-based research exploring differences in breast cancer stage at diagnosis among Black, Hispanic and White women.

Speaker
Dr. Paula Lantz is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. With training in social demography, epidemiology and health policy, Dr. Lantz conducts population-based research regarding social stratification and health. She is particularly interested in the role of clinical preventive services (such as cancer screening) in reducing social inequalities in health. Dr. Lantz is the Co-Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholars in Health Policy Research Program and is on the Steering Committee for the Health & Society Scholars Program at the University of Michigan site.

To register
This talk is open to the Columbia University community as well as faculty and postdoctoral fellows at other sites of the Robert Wood Johnson Health & Society Scholars (H&SS) Program. RSVP's are greatly appreciated. To RSVP please send an email to: chssp@columbia.edu.