SALT LAKE CITY — Cancer is something that touches us all in some way.
Maybe you’ve had cancer or have known someone who battled the disease.
For FOX 13's Robyn Oguinye, her connection touches close to home.
Some called her Barbie, others called her by her full name, Barbara Jean. Robyn called her mom.
In 2012, Robyn's mom was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer.
Just 17 months after her diagnosis, after going through chemotherapy and radiation treatment, she passed away.
Robyn explained that her mother caught the cancer too late, making it nearly impossible to beat.
As Breast Cancer Awareness Month ends, FOX 13 wants to continue to remind everyone why it’s important to think about your health year-round and that includes regular screenings.
“I think early detection is really what is allowing me to sit here today,” said 52-year-old Angie Fisher.
Angie started getting her yearly mammograms at age 40.
Her family does have a history of cancer, but her genetic testing for breast cancer had come back negative and she had no symptoms.
Her diagnosis in September of 2018 was a shock.
“To this day, I don’t know, right or wrong, what stage I was because it didn’t matter to me,” says Angie. “I just told my team that I needed to live 40 years and whatever it took, that’s what we were going to do because it’s just a number. I believe early detection is why I’m still here.”
After Angie’s diagnosis, her younger sister decided to get tested.
She too learned she had breast cancer, but was able to forgo chemo and radiation with a double mastectomy.
FOX 13 News sat down with Intermountain’s Medical Director for breast imaging, Dr. Eugene Kim to ask if anyone is more prone to certain cancers and why.
“Ethnic, minority women do have a higher predilection to be diagnosed with cancers later or they’re a more advanced stage,” says Dr, Kim. “They are more predisposed to getting what’s called triple-negative breast cancer, which tends to be more aggressive.”
According to the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Journal for Clinicians, the black population is the third largest racial-ethnic group in the United States, but has a disproportionate cancer burden including the highest mortality and the lowest survival of any racial-ethnic group for most cancers.
The journal’s article from December 2021 says the disparities are driven by lower socioeconomic status which is associated with a higher prevalence of risk factors for cancer, as well as less access to high-quality health care largely because of inadequate health insurance.
Furthermore, breast cancer surpassed lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer death among black women in 2019.
Dr. Kim explained targeted interventions could help lower that mortality rate.
“It’s a combination of access and medical healthcare disparities. Overall, I think that’s something that we love to address with early screening and breast cancer detection,” Kim said.
“Mammograms or breast cancer screenings can find breast cancer years before it can be felt or seen by your doctor or before you have symptoms,” said Joelle Fierro with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services.
Fierro explained the department is working to make early detection easier and more accessible.
“Most insurance companies will cover a yearly mammogram or breast cancer screening, but those who don’t have health insurance and may be worried that the cost of that is too expensive to afford, so we have a program to supplement for that,” she says.
The program is open to women ages 40 to 64 who have a low to moderate income, are uninsured or have a high deductible.
Once you sign up to see if you qualify, you’re matched with a clinic or hospital close to where you live where you can get screened for breast and other types of cancer at no cost to you.
“I’ve met a lot of women who have gone through breast cancer and it doesn’t help you not to know, because it doesn’t change whether or not that you will get breast cancer. It only makes it so that it’s harder to treat later on,” says Fierro.
As for Angie, she said she knows life is busy and getting tested is easy to push off.
But take it from her, it doesn’t take long and it could prolong your life.
“It’s an hour and an hour is a small sacrifice for a lifetime for more years with my family and my friends.”
If you or someone you know wants to sign up for free cancer screenings through DHHS, call 1-800-717-1811 or click here.
If you or someone you know is currently undergoing treatment for cancer and needs a little extra cash in their pocket for non-medical expenses, there are resources in Utah.
One of those resources is Needs Beyond Medicine.
The Salt Lake City non-profit offers financial assistance to cancer patients for everyday living costs like rent, groceries and transportation and applications are reviewed at the start of every month.
If they are not able to help fulfill the needs of applicants, they are referred to other local organizations that can help.
“We work with social workers and patient advocators at all the hospitals, so they know exactly what the patient is going through,” explained Needs Beyond Medicine founder and CEO Philip Brown. “Obviously if they see a patient that’s in dire straits, they’ll say hey, here’s Needs Beyond Medicine. It’s just done through an application process. They’ll refer the patient or they’ll even help the patient apply for assistance with us.”
The organization also promotes early cancer screenings through outreach with universities on signs and symptoms of various cancers.
