Mary J. Blige is using her voice to raise awareness for breast cancer and the importance of getting screened.
The nine-time Grammy Award-winning singer said in an interview that highlighting the illness is important to her because of the racial disparity in breast cancer death rates.
Breast cancer death rates are 40% higher for Black women than white women; according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Blige says she believes the disparity exists due to “lack of information about how important a mammogram is and how it can save your life.”
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Higher death rates from the disease for Black women are due to several factors; according to the American Cancer Society’s biennial update on female breast cancer statistics in the U.S.
Some include “later stage at diagnosis and other unfavourable tumour characteristics, higher prevalence of obesity and comorbidities; as well as less access to timely and high‐quality prevention, early detection, and treatment services.”
The importance of getting screened: ‘Do it even when you’re scared’
The singer said she feels “a lot of fears and barriers” affect whether or not a woman will prioritize getting screened. After losing an aunt to breast cancer, Blige says she now believes a lack of awareness toward screening played a role in her loved one’s battle with cancer.
“I believe if she had this information that she would be here today; the importance of a mammogram,” the singer said. “When we were growing up, no one spoke about a mammogram, breast cancer — anything like that.”
The Umbrella Academy star also wondered whether it was going to hurt or if she was going to be diagnosed.
“Once I went into the office and went to the procedure, I realized that it was nothing to it,” Blige said. “It wasn’t painful. It was just a little discomfort on each breast for a second or two, and then it was over.”
She emphasized how she received early results following her Genius 3D Mammography exam. Blige even called the screening “enlightening.” She also said it made her want to know more about her health.
