Advice From Teresa Van Hoy (Part 2, Public)

Public Experience With Breast Cancer (Advice from a Survivor)

Teresa Miriam Van Hoy is an assistant professor of History, mother, wife, and breast cancer survivor. Here is her advice for women who are facing breast cancer.

Public Experience of Breast Cancer

Public, Political, Racial
One fact shocked me into admitting that cancer is not just personal, but also profoundly public and political. The strongest indicator for death from breast cancer is insurance coverage. Those women who have insurance are more likely to survive five years from diagnosis; those who do not are more likely to die within five years. Women of color are much more likely to be uninsured or underinsured. Therefore, African-American women and Latinas die at much higher rates than European-American women, even though their incidence of breast cancer is much lower.

Another shocker: Women who immigrate to the United States and their daughters are more likely to develop breast cancer than those who remain in their countries of origin. This is true for affluent countries such as Japan as well as for impoverished countries such as Mexico.

Disparities in Education and Employment
My response thus far has been to try to address questions of unequal access to medical care and the larger problem of disparities in education and employment. It is also key to mobilize locally and globally. My work with Latinas for a Cure and my address at China Women'­s University in Beijing are but small steps in that direction. (To hear a live recording of that lecture, go to this website.

This forum, About Breast Cancer, helps us work together on the public issues and gain strength to face the personal ones.

_Source:

Teresa Miriam Van Hoy, correspondence with Pam Stephan. Spetember 17, 2006.