A new study has revealed that Black women die from cervical cancer at a disproportionately higher rate than white women.
According to a joint report from the Southern Rural Black Women's Initiative for Economic and Social Justice (SRBWI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW), Black women are far more likely than any other racial or ethnic group in the United States to have a late-stage diagnosis of cervical cancer, and far more likely to die from the disease.
Cervical cancer, which is generally caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), is one of the more treatable cancers. Cervical cancer has a 90% five-year survival rate when identified early, but it goes unreported in many Black women.
When compared to white women, the discrepancy is particularly pronounced: black women are roughly 1.5 times more likely to die of cervical cancer. The researchers cited Georgia as one example, finding that Black women are more likely to have never been checked for cervical cancer, are more likely to be diagnosed at a later stage, and have a worse five-year survival rate.
"Although almost no one should die from the disease, some groups - those that are historically marginalized and neglected in the US, including women of color, women living in poverty, and those without health insurance - die more often than others," the researchers said.
The disparities in cervical cancer survival rates "reflect exclusion from the healthcare system and unequal access to the information, interventions, and services necessary to prevent and treat the disease," according to the researchers.
One of the main causes of the higher rates of late-stage diagnoses and deaths, researchers say, is unequal access to "adequate and affordable" health care, which they say "represent a failure of the federal, state, and local governments to protect and promote human rights for all people."
They claim that more than 255,000 Georgia people "have no options for affordable health care."
Regular OB-GYN visits and pap smears to check for HPV are required to prevent cervical cancer.
Ciara, who said a member of her team was diagnosed with cervical cancer early on owing to a screening, advised Black women to schedule their exams immediately in an op-ed for NBC News published Monday.
The Grammy Award-winning artist advised women to see their OB/GYN for a routine Pap test between the ages of 21 and 29, and then for both a Pap test and an HPV test starting at 30.
Pap tests detect abnormalities in the cervix that can be treated before they progress to cervical cancer. The HPV test detects the presence of the virus, which can cause cancer.
"Testing is done as part of your well-woman exam - it's that easy," Ciara wrote. "That's what self-care is all about, and it's how we begin to take control and change the narrative."
