by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman
November 13, 2023
The media personality is using her platform to shed light on the form of breast cancer disproportionately impacting Black women.
Nina Parker is doing her part to advocate for Black women’s health. The media personality has joined pharmaceutical company Merck in their Uncovering Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) Initiative, as Black women are disproportionately impacted by the illness.
Parker’s outreach stems from a personal experience in the matter, as her mother successfully battled TNBC in 2016. Through her research to support her mother in her health journey, Parker found that Black women were twice as likely to be diagnosed with the disease, leading her on this mission with Merck as they spread awareness to get tested and stay informed.
“The best thing that I felt that I could do is arm myself with information,” shares Parker with BLACK ENTERPRISE.
“More often than not you start to hear stories about survivors and how you can be supportive. I always feel better when I have a wealth of information as opposed to none. Organizations like this [Uncovering TNBC] exist to make people feel like you have an advocate.”
Through her platform to highlight Uncovering TNBC, Parker was able to speak to additional survivors, noting that their stories have sparked hope for others currently battling or fearful of their risk to contract the illness. To the television presenter, being immersed in a supportive, informational program is crucial to reducing the fear, as well as the heightened probability for Black women.
“This is really just about knowledge, and talking about how TNBC affects Black women specifically. In working with Merck, I was able to sit down and talk to three wonderful women who have been impacted by it. They were on the frontlines of dealing with these, and I was able to learn gain so much information from them and Merck having this program.”
Parker continued on, expressing that despite the scares, breast cancer is beatable and preventable when one feels empowered to speak up for their wellness,
“Its all about telling you how to have these conversations with your doctors, and to know your next steps, its really all there…Breast cancer does not have to be considered a death sentence, but early detection is key. What we found is it is disproportionate for information, and that is why the Uncovering TNBC website is so beneficial, because it is exists to be a resource. So when you have this information, you are able to be a better advocate for yourself and for your body. “
Uncovering TNBC encourages Black women to engage in open discussion with their medical care providers as it is a joint mission to reduce the disparity in the cancer diagnoses, while also providing a wide-range of outlets that seek to support women in taking care of their health.
“This is a partnership, this is someone who is here to help you,” expressed the 44-year-old. “And I think with a lot of Black women in healthcare there’s this feeling of an authoritative figure who is telling you what to do. But there’s an opportunity to have these conversations, and any doctor that wants to help you should be open to explaining something if you have a concern. And if you feel like you’re being shut down, just know that there’s information and advocacy groups, even listed on the website, that can help you figure out other steps.”
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