Posted on December 14, 2021

By Krystal Redman, Executive Director

Did you know that Black women are 42% more likely to die from breast cancer than white women?

Or, that although Latinas have a lower incidence rate, they are 20% more likely to die than white women diagnosed at a similar age and stage? How about the fact that breast cancer patients of lower income have five-year relative survival rates that are 9% lower than patients of higher-income?

These are sobering statistics. We know that we cannot address the issues at the core of this disease without addressing disparities in incidence rates, treatment outcomes, and mortality.  That’s why, together, our board and staff are committed to deepening our social justice lens and our intentionality around how anti-racism is health justice. 

In 2022 we will be taking concrete action to radically shift the systems that result in these gross disparities. I hope you’ll join us with a year-end gift today.

Here are some of the projects we’ll be working on in the upcoming year:

  • In May 2021, the board and staff started our strategic planning process to envision the next five years. This process, which will continue into the new year, includes creating a blueprint for how we will show up in the movement and the world, prioritizing centering those with the furthest relationships to power, and operationalizing these values internally and externally.
  • Our work to end our reliance on fossil fuels sits squarely at the intersection of environmental, economic, and health justice. As a result of our work with the Last Chance Alliance, CalGEM, the department that oversees oil operations in California, issued a draft rule banning new permits for oil and gas wells within 3,200 feet of these areas where we live, work, and play. Big news, but our work continues! In the coming year we will continue our partnership with the Last Chance Alliance to ensure that this draft rule becomes law in the state of California, setting a precedence for national change.
  • As we announced earlier in the year, BCAction was chosen by the California Breast Cancer Research Program (CBCRP) to be the convener for a major multi-organizational research project that aims to understand multi-generational breast cancer risk factors for immigrant communities in the U.S. and California. We began work in October to ensure that community voices are incorporated into the research process by engaging impacted immigrant communities, stakeholders, and mobilizing our broad network of community organizations.

At Breast Cancer Action, we know that the same social determinants that increase an individual’s likelihood of experiencing racial injustice are the same forces that likely contribute to disparities in the development and mortality of breast cancer. In 2022, we will continue to work to create a world where our lives and communities are not threatened by breast cancer, healthcare disparities, or racism.

I hope you’ll join us in that effort with your year-end gift today.