*Singer and songwriter Shanice Wilson-Knox is opening up about her cancer journey after revealing that she underwent a double mastectomy three months ago.
We reported earlier that the wife and mother of two explained in an Instagram post on Sept. 8 that she “had a stage one one centimeter tumor in my breast.. Thank God I caught it early… I wasn’t ready to talk about it then but I’m strong enough to talk about it now,” she wrote.
“Please everyone get checked,” Shanice added.
In a video message to fans, Shanice explained that she developed a form of breast cancer known as Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in her left breast.
In the caption, Shaunice thanked her husband, actor Flex Alexander, for “helping me get through the hardest time of my life.. You helped me every day with my drains and cooked all my meals.. I love you,” she added. “I am healed and restored in Jesus name.”
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In the post’s comments, Alexander wrote, “You handled it like a warrior babe!! I’m glad now you’re telling your story!! You are my hero.”
Per the Mayo Clinic, “Ductal carcinoma is the most common type of breast cancer. This type of cancer forms in the lining of a milk duct within your breast. The ducts carry breast milk from the lobules, where it’s made, to the nipple. Ductal carcinoma can remain within the ducts as a noninvasive cancer (ductal carcinoma in situ), or it can break out of the ducts (invasive ductal carcinoma).”
Breast cancer occurs at similar or lower rates among black and white women but Black women have a higher mortality rate.
“We have been reporting this same disparity year after year for a decade. The differences in death rates are not explained by Black women having more aggressive cancers,” said Rebecca Siegel, MPH, who co-authored “Breast Cancer Facts & Figures 2022-2024,” a companion to “Breast Cancer Statistics, 2022 in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians,” per cancer.org.
Siegel said, “It is time for health systems to take a hard look at how they are caring differently for Black women.”
Researchers propose that Black women should undergo screening earlier to counter infection and reduce breast cancer mortality.
Breast cancer mostly affects women over 50, according to cancer.org. The majority of women who die from breast cancer in the US are over the age of 70. Several studies suggest that Black women should begin screening for breast cancer at the age of 42 rather than 50.
READ MORE FROM EURWEB.COM: R&B Singer Shanice Reveals She Had a Double Mastectomy
