Breast cancer’s racial divide
Black women share their stories of survival, empowerment and disparity
LaTasha Ford found the lump in her breast in the shower when she was 25 years old with a toddler daughter. While breast cancer loomed in her family history, even claiming the life of one of her grandmothers, Ford didn’t expect a diagnosis in her 20s.
“You hear, ‘Don’t do your mammograms until you’re 40,’ ” said Ford.
Black women are disproportionately affected by breast cancer. For women younger than 45, its occurrence is higher among Black women than white, according to statistics from Breast Cancer Prevention Partners. Black women are also more likely to die from breast cancer than white women, according to a report from the American Cancer Society.
The racial disparity in the death rate can be attributed to a host of factors, including cancer diagnoses at a more advanced stage, higher incidences of obesity, unfavorable tumor characteristics and access to high-quality cancer treatment, according to the report. Black patients without Medicare or private insurance who display unfavorable tumor characteristics accounted for more deaths in the early stages of the disease and younger than age 65, researchers said.
A group of Houston-area survivors, who participated in an empowering photo shoot last fall, are encouraging Black women to advocate on behalf of themselves and each other to correct these issues and to improve their odds of early diagnosis — and of surviving. They shared their stories with the Chronicle to help advance that mission.
LaTasha Ford: ‘The worst year of my life’
It was 2010 when Ford discovered the lump. The Richmond resident called her Aunt Dinah for advice.
“She was real calm,” the now 36-year-old said. “She said, ‘First things first, let’s just get it checked.’ ”
The diagnosis came back as stage 3 breast cancer. Ford didn’t
have any side effects when she started chemotherapy.
“I would literally go to chemo and go to work like it was nothing,” said Ford, who was working at Men’s Warehouse.
She lost her hair, but she said it didn’t faze her. After six months, the cancer was gone, but, as a preventative measure, Ford underwent a double mastectomy.
It seemed she was past breast cancer until 2015, when she felt a sharp pain in her armpit while she was driving.
Then, she felt a little knot under her skin.
The cancer was back. This time, the chemo and other treatments ruined her appetite and caused her to throw up for days on end. She would spend hours in warm baths to try to ease severe muscle cramps.
“That was probably the worst year of my life,” said Ford.
Since her first bout with cancer, Ford had a son. She thought often of her children, Aaliyah and Elijah, now 11 and 8.
“If it wasn’t for my children, I probably wouldn’t be here,” said Ford. “As a mom, they’re your motivation. That’s your fight.”
Chivon Jones: ‘Be adamant about your health care’
Ford’s cousin, Chivon Jones, spent months trying to figure out why she was sensitive to light and sound, causing her body to go into uncontrollable convulsions.
Jones, who was 39 at the time, began needing a wheelchair to get around. Her doctor diagnosed her in March 2019 with a rare neurological disorder, called stiff person’s syndrome.
During testing, Jones’ doctor found a protein in her blood and ordered a mammogram. She was diagnosed with breast cancer that May.
“Normally, you’re not happy to get that diagnosis, but that diagnosis is pretty much what saved my life, because I couldn’t walk or do anything,” said Jones, now 41. “I was bedridden.”
As Jones underwent chemotherapy, her body began to strengthen. She also started to gain weight and her seizures eventually stopped.
She went into remission in December 2019.
She encourages other Black women to do self-checks and be persistent with their doctors when they experience symptoms.
“When something is wrong with you, be adamant about your health care,” said Jones. “As Black women, we are dismissed in the medical field a lot. They don’t take us serious.”
Black women often are diagnosed with breast cancer at advanced stages because of “issues related to access to highquality health care, including fewer screening mammograms, lack of timely follow-up of abnormal results and receipt of health care at lower resourced or unaccredited facilities,” according to the American Cancer Society.
Dr. Jamie Terry, a breast surgeon affiliated with Memorial Hermann Hospital, also notes a level of distrust among some African Americans when it comes to health care.
“Within African American communities, there remains a fundamental thread of distrust within the medical community,” said Terry, who did not treat any of the patients interviewed for this story. “They are not embracing the notion that the health care system is there to protect and prevent them from disease. Unfortunately, this is rooted in disinformation, misinformation and lack of trust.”
Franz Battle: ‘I didn’t know any better’
Franz Battle knows what it’s like to receive a late-stage diagnosis.
When she lived in Louisiana in 2009, she found a lump under her arm while showering. She immediately scheduled an appointment with her doctor for three days later.
The doctor completed a mammogram and ultrasound, which showed swollen lymph nodes. Her mammogram looked fine, so no biopsy was ordered.
“They should’ve had me coming back to do follow-ups,” the now 46-year-old said. “Of course, I didn’t know any better.” Still, she took the doctor’s assurance and moved to Houston shortly after for a new job.
Once in Houston, Battle, an avid runner, noticed back and leg pain.
Finally, after experiencing stabbing pain in the same place where she first discovered the lump, she went to another doctor in 2013.
The doctor confirmed the worst: She had been living with breast cancer for years and it had progressed to stage 4.
DaNetra Brantley: ‘I can’t be the only person that’s asking God, ‘Why?’ ’
DaNetra Brantley, a neighbor of Battle’s in Richmond, is a three-time survivor who was first diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer in 2014.
Her brother, a photographer, suggested Brantley do a photo series about her battle. For the pictures, Brantley wore a bra with words representing her cancer journey written across her skin in pink makeup.
After Brantley posted a photo from the shoot on social media, she realized how much it resonated with others and was motivated to continue sharing her story.
“I know I can’t be the only person that’s at home crying about this,” said Brantley, 41. “I know I can’t be the only person that’s asking God, ‘Why?’ ”
She decided to organize a photo shoot for other Black breast cancer survivors. Ford, Jones and Battle participated last October.
“It was as if there was something we didn’t have to speak about, just a mutual love and respect for one another,” Jones said. “We didn’t have to talk about treatments. We were just glad to be together and share in that moment with one another.”
Sherese Guy: ‘It was a powerful, powerful moment.’
Sherese Guy, who had not met any of the women before the October photo shoot, said a college classmate connected her with Brantley.
“It was fun to be able to share that experience with people that look like me, that had been through the same thing as me and we all survived,” said Guy, 44. “It was a powerful, powerful moment.”
In 2018, Guy found a lump doing a self-check in the shower around Thanksgiving. She was later diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer.
“I was so thankful for catching it early,” said Guy. “Especially in our culture, we have this thing, where if we’re sick, we won’t get checked out. We can beat it. We can get through it. But I was glad that I went ahead and followed my mind to go ahead and proceed and get it checked out.”
Terry said there’s a cultural stigma around minorities sharing details about a medical illness. “If you claim infirmity, if you claim disability, then you are not believing in natural healing, not having faith that your body and your sustenance comes from a higher power,” said Terry.
Looking forward: ‘I live everyday like it’s my last’
On top of the stage 4 cancer that Battle has lived with for years, doctors discovered a malignant brain tumor last year.
Battle has depended on her support system to get through her journey. In addition, her significant other recently received a kidney transplant.
“Y’all are the healthiest looking, good looking sick people that I’ve ever met,” she recalls a neighbors telling the couple. “We really support each other emotionally.”
Battle chats with her neighbor Brantley — sitting in the garage, joking, laughing and a lot of times not mentioning cancer.
Terry said that it’s up to minorities to bring resources and education back to their own communities to help raise awareness about breast cancer and other health issues.
“We are trying to rebuild a foundation that is shaky,” said Terry. “Then, we have to ask who is going to rebuild that foundation? How are we going to pour cement and fill in the cracks? I think the answer to that question lies within the community. I think that the smartest thing that has been done in the last five years — I’d even say two years — is for minority populations to take access to resources and education back into their own hands.”
As for Ford, her cancer returned for a third time in 2019.
“It was a dark year for me because I started thinking, is this going to be my normal?” said Ford.
But she persevered, relying on her faith in God, and was declared cancer-free again.
“I’m grateful to have beat it three times, but I don’t know how much more time God is going to allow me here,” said Ford. “I hope another 100 years, but I don’t know. I live every day like it’s my last.”