breast cancer

When Dianne Austin was diagnosed with breast cancer, she never imagined having a hard time securing natural and textured wigs for herself for her medical hair loss in cancer center boutiques. Out of this difficult lived experience, she and her sister, Pamela Shaddock, decided to disrupt this health care disparity and become the co-founders of Coils to Locs.

For South End residents, a new radiology suite is anticipated to mean improved, faster access to breast cancer screenings and X-rays.

Black women have long faced worse outcomes and higher mortality rates from breast cancer, with ongoing impact from racism within health systems and other barriers that prevent easy access to care.

“I have never been sick a day of my life. I don’t smoke. I rarely drink. Breast cancer does not run in my family. And yet, here I am with stage three breast cancer,” Sidner, 51, said on air.

Black patients had worse breast cancer outcomes than their white counterparts, according to researchers at Mass General Cancer Center who also noted other factors that contribute to survival rates.