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According to a recent report by American Cancer Society called "CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians" Breast Cancer in black women has been rising at a staggering 0.4% each year between 2008 and 2012. However, this rate has been stable amongst white, Native-American and Latina women studied between the same period. The breast cancer rates were higher in Black women belonging to 7 seven states - Alabama, Louisiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Mississippi, reports Dallas News.

The researchers admit that they don't know why black women are reporting more cases of breast cancer. What they did note, however, was that all women had higher incidents of estrogen receptor positive cancer, which means cell growth in response to hormone estrogen - a cancer type that has been associated with obesity. The report also revealed that even though Asian American women reported higher cases of breast cancer, 1.5% increase annually between 2008 and 2012 period, they still reported the lowest amongst the study group. Breast Cancer is a very common condition among women in U.S. and comes second to only lung cancer as the leading cause of death, as per America Aljazeera.

According to ACS, the death rates caused by breast cancer have dropped by 36% since 1989. However, the cases of death reported in black women has outdone the white women, even though the former have had relatively fewer cases of breast cancer. In 2012, the deaths caused by breast cancer in black women was higher by 42% as compared to white women. As per ACS, this inequality in death rates in black women can be attributed to late diagnosis of the disease, especially when it is in the later stages. The report also said, "Poverty, lower levels of educational attainment, and a lack of health insurance are also associated with lower breast cancer survival largely because of limited access to care", says The New York Times.