Breast cancer rates rising for African American women

Breast cancer rates for African American women are rising – according to two new studies.

Between 2008 and 2012, the incidence of breast cancer for African American women rose 0.4 percent per year.

By 2012, the rate of breast cancer diagnosis for African American women had risen to the point where it matched the the rate of diagnosis for white women, said the pair of studies by the American Cancer Society.

Rates for Asian and Pacific Islander women increased 1.5 percent per year, the studies found, while rates remained stable among Native American, Hispanic and white women. Though the rate of diagnosis had become the same between white and African-American women nationally, incidence rates were actually higher in Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.

Read more: UPI