Surgeons Can Drive Change in Addressing Breast Cancer Care Disparities

Surgeons can play a key role in reducing breast cancer disparities by increasing their awareness of where disparities exist and having open conversations with their patients about their needs to initiate referrals early in their care, according to a new collective review article published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons (JACS).

Despite improved screening and treatment options for breast cancer—the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women excluding skin cancers—many populations face significant barriers to screening and treatment options for breast cancer.

Following a well-received in-person panel discussion on breast cancer disparities held at the ACS Clinical Congress in October, an interdisciplinary team of clinicians that included surgeons, a radiologist, and public health researchers, convened to explore these disparities in more detail for a research article in JACS.

Access to the Panel Session is available on the Clinical Congress virtual platform until May 1. Register and log in today to view it.

Areas of disparities discussed in the article include variable access to screening, genetic counseling and testing, access to fertility preservation, and reconstructive surgery. Authors outlined key steps for improving care that care centers and surgeons can take, including advocating for patient navigation programs, opening treatment centers in underserved communities, assisting with community-led health efforts, producing educational materials in a variety of formats and language, and more.

“Finding small ways to help address disparities, even if it’s just referring a patient for one program that they would not have known about before, can make a huge difference for all our patients who are diagnosed with breast cancer,” said study coauthor Kathie-Ann Joseph, MD, MPH, FACS. “It just starts with that one small step. There is hope, but it requires work.”