Washington tops breast cancer deaths

DALLAS, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- The District of Columbia has the highest breast cancer death rate of any city in the country due to healthcare access and long treatment waits, a report found.

The State of Breast Cancer report released by the anti-breast cancer group, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, said more than 2 million U.S. women are breast cancer survivors, but there are cultural, social, educational and financial barriers to getting life-saving breast cancer care.

The report found:

-- More than 40,000 U.S. patients will die of breast cancer this year.

-- African American women have a 35 percent higher breast cancer death rate than Caucasian women even though they are less likely to get breast cancer.

-- Thirty-eight percent of Hispanic women age 40 or older have regular mammograms.

-- For uninsured women, the risk of dying from breast cancer increases by 30 percent to 50 percent.

In addition to providing breast cancer information for patients, activists, family members and caregivers, the report is intended to help people understand the basic characteristics of the disease, the ways it is detected, how it is treated and survived.