Coping Through Crisis: Breast Cancer and the Coronavirus
Kelly D.
Photos by Rathkopf Photography
As an African-American young adult who has been diagnosed with breast cancer, Kelly is no stranger to the health disparities that the US is seeing with Coronavirus.
In the young breast cancer community, incidence rates are twice as high for African-American women than Caucasian women. African-American women are also three times more likely to die of breast cancer than Caucasian women of the same age.
The CDC has reported that while data is still being collected, at this point, there is a clear disparity in the hospitalization and death rates among African American and Hispanic communities. In New York City alone, the death rate of African Americans is double that of White and Asian persons.
“We’re still, as far as our well-being and our health, we’re placed not even on a back burner. It’s kind of hard to express how you feel, you know, being a black American.”
It’s something she has experience in, not only being African American but also as a young adult with breast cancer. The young adult community is often written off and dismissed, left to advocate for what they need.
“You have to be your own advocate. You have to be your own doctor. You have to go in and fight honestly for what our ancestors fought for and for what your job pays for. It is unfortunate that even in this pandemic, the health of African Americans is still not being taken seriously.”
YSC and Rathkopf Photography have partnered for Mental Health Awareness Month to draw attention to the fear, anxiety, and isolation that COVID-19 triggers in young adults affected by breast cancer. Media often focuses on those in active treatment, but the consequences of cancer can last years after diagnosis. As the world grapples with its ‘new normal,’ these 5 survivors and thrivers navigate an already permanently altered life after cancer now compounded by COVID-19. Follow their stories all May.
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