Feelings Of Racial discrimination Can Cause Breast Cancer
While illnesses know no discrimination among the various races they afflict, a study suggests that African-American women who feel they’ve been victims of racial discrimination are more likely than their peers to develop breast cancer. The study, which followed 59,000 African-American women for six years, found that those who reported more incidents of racial discrimination had a higher risk of breast cancer. Past studies have suggested that over time, perceived racial discrimination can take a toll on a person’s health. A possible explanation is that unjust treatment serves as a source of chronic stress, which itself has been linked to poorer physical health. In the current study, women were asked how often they faced “everyday” discrimination, like receiving poorer service than other people at stores, or feeling that people are “afraid” of them or act superior to them. They were also asked whether they’d ever been treated unjustly on the job, in trying to get housing, or by the p...