Breast cancer is being detected in Mexican women on both sides of the border an average of 10 years earlier than the average age it is being detected in white women. Also cancerous tumors found in Latina women tend to bigger than those found in white women, leading to an increased mortality rate. Part of the reason for this includes assimilation. While assimilation is being touted as the way immigrants need to go, assimilation into U.S. culture means more greasy fast food and a rise in smoking, making breast cancer numbers rise. It is because of the disparity that a new study will begin looking at breast cancer specifically in Latina women.

Dr. María Elena Martínez, from the Cancer Center in Arizona , a team from the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center of Texas University, and a team from the universities of Guadalajara y Sonora got a check for $1 million
to study the types of cancers Mexican women on both sides of the border suffer from. The information gathered from the study, which will last approximately two years, will allow for a better understanding in why there are disparities in cancer diagnosis and how better to treat Latina women.

Via / la Opinion