Breast cancer in African American women: nursing essentials

Breast cancer impacts all population groups. However, when measures of mortality and length of survival are compared by racial/ethnic groups, African American women are noted to bear a disproportionate burden. In an era where evidence-based practice is the standard, it is imperative that nurses engaged in practice with women within acute care and community-based settings, have a breadth of knowledge of the anatomy and pathophysiology of breast cancer, are knowledgeable of the standards of breast care, and knowledgeable of the availability and accessibility of breast care resources within their service area. This report provides an overview for nurse of trends in breast cancer morbidity and mortality among African American women, breast cancer pathology, breast cancer screening guidelines and breast cancer clinical practice recommendations.