Impact of Legislative Policy on Young women’s Breast Cancer Health

Abstract

Breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer among women in the United States (CDC, 2021). Approximately 12% of US women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime and 3% will die from invasive breast cancer (American Cancer Society, 2021). It is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in women, with an estimated 42,000 women dying annually in the US. Young Black women have lower survival rates, higher risks of metastatic recurrence, and a higher mortality rate (Young Survival Coalition, 2021). This quality improvement project utilized retrospective data to examine the impact of the EARLY Act Reauthorization of 2014 on breast cancer mortality and morbidity rates in young Black women under 50 years old. Young Black women under the age of 50 diagnosed with breast cancer living in Texas were the target patient population. Data before and after the enactment of the EARLY Act Reauthorization of 2014 was reviewed and analyzed in collaboration with a statistician. The data analyzed showed an overall decrease in mortality rates over time. A z test was used to compare the mortality rate for each group before and after enactment of the EARLY Act Reauthorization. The difference was found to be statistically significant for young Black women.