As a well-known television host and personality, Nina Parker is used to being in the spotlight, but her recent work as an advocate for Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) is a testament to her dedication to making a difference in the lives of women everywhere.
Parker’s journey into advocacy began with a deeply personal experience: her mother’s battle with breast cancer. In 2016, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and what followed was a traumatic and challenging period for their family. Parker opens up about this difficult time in her life, revealing that it took her several years to find the strength to speak about it publicly.
“My mom’s battle with breast cancer was not easy. It was a traumatic experience, and I only recently started talking about it in a major space when I joined the Uncovering TNBC campaign with Merck,” the journalist explains. “Her experience in the hospital was less than ideal, and it delayed me from getting my initial breast exam. I waited longer than I should have because I was so traumatized by what happened with my mom.”
According to Breastcancer.org, research shows that Black women:
- are twice as likely to be diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer compared with white women
- are more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage disease than other women
- have the lowest survival rates in each stage of diagnosis
“Black women often have a rough time within the healthcare system,” she tells BlackDoctor.org, echoing a sentiment that resonates with many. “Early diagnosis is imperative, and access to information is crucial.”
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It was this awareness that drove Parker to take action.
“We often go into our relationship with our healthcare providers as more authoritative, but it really shouldn’t be that. It’s to help you and serve you… I think a lot of people are afraid to get information or ask those questions, but we found that delayed screenings have been really imperative as to why it’s so disproportionate to our white counterparts,” the fashion designer notes. “Also [a] lack of that overall information… There’s less access to a lot of Black women…We need to close that gap by providing a wealth of information. As we know wealth is literally health.”
She emphasizes the importance of early screening. After her first mammogram, Parker received a callback for further examination.
“It was such a scary experience,” she recalls, “and I felt that nobody was talking about it.” Fortunately, her test results came back normal. After speaking to other women in her community, she quickly realized that callbacks during a woman’s first mammogram are actually quite common.
“I found in speaking to other members in the community that this is actually not something that’s very rare. A lot of women go to get their