The USA’s Deadly Racial Divide: Black women and Breast Cancer

If you are a black woman with breast cancer in Los Angeles you are 75% more likely to die than a white woman and the gap is growing. These devastating differences in survival rates are repeated across the US, suggesting that African-American women are missing out on life-saving treatment.

Anu Anand investigates the poor care on offer in parts of LA and she reports from Chicago, where similar disparities a decade ago sparked a city-wide initiative to close the deadly divide. She explores what might be causing the racial death gap and whether Chicago’s attempts to close it could provide a model for other parts of the US.

(Photo: Female Hands Holding Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon. Credit: CatLane)

Producer: Fiona Hill