SAN ANTONIO – Susan G. Komen San Antonio has created a community profile to better understand how to serve women affected by breast cancer in Bexar County.
Every four years, the cancer research organization completes a community assessment.
The profile identifies priority areas of need based on demographic information, input from neighborhood focus groups and the medical community.
"Things like poverty levels, insurance rates, education levels, if they lived in medically underserved areas," said Bre Jamerson, community affairs director for Susan G. Komen San Antonio.
The data revealed 34 zip codes as areas needing the most support.
The areas have lower education levels with higher poverty and uninsured rates compared to other areas in Bexar County.
"We found that through this information, that Hispanics and African American women here in San Antonio have a greater risk of getting breast cancer," Jamerson said.
African American women have a 42 percent higher rate of dying from breast cancer than white women, the data revealed.
Following the results, the organization creates and implements a plan.
Komen San Antonio has partnered with Martinez Street Women's Center to get educational materials to women.
The organization hopes to partner with health care advocates to start a support group for breast cancer patients and survivors.
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