Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women in America – accounting for 1 in 3 new cancer diagnoses each year. And while there isn’t a big difference across races in terms of rates of getting breast cancer – there are huge gaps in what happens after diagnosis.

In this episode we sit down with Scott Siegel, Ph.D., director of cancer control and population sciences at ChristianaCare, and Dr. Dawn Leonard, chief of ChristianaCare’s division of breast surgery, to discuss that alarming disparity. 

They shed light on the urgent issues at play, including higher rates of advanced breast cancer and the aggressive triple negative breast cancer prevalent in Delaware. They explain how a victory in eliminating a racial disparity for a completely different form of cancer is spurring the call to action to address breast cancer. And we discuss how success in Delaware could apply nationwide.

Scott Siegel, Ph.D., is a psychologist and director of Population Health Research at ChristianaCare. In this role Siegel works collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams in the health system and with governments, universities, and community-based organizations to improve population health.

Dawn Leonard, MD, FACS, specializes in breast surgery at ChristianaCare. Dr. Leonard joined ChristianaCare with more than 17 years of practice and leadership experience, most recently at Georgetown University Hospital and as the site director at a community hospital with a Regional Breast Health Program. Dr. Leonard has earned multiple recognitions as a “Top Doc” in Breast Surgery and awards for excellence in healthcare, service and scholarship.

Links

• Researchers Find Disparities in Breast Cancer Screening in Delaware Linked to Race and Geography
• ‘Getting the Village Back Together’: ChristianaCare’s Plan for Reducing Breast Cancer Disparities in Delaware
• Searching for the Roots of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Where Women Live
• Basic Information About Breast Cancer (CDC)

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