Foreword
Philip Agop Philip, MD , PhD, FRCP
I’m an oncologist in Detroit who has treated hundreds of women with
breast cancer and I would be ecstatic if a cure for this disease were dis-
covered very soon, preferably today or next week. Undoubtedly the cure
rates for women who have breast cancer diagnosed in its earlier stages are
increasing provided they are diagnosed early and are provided the right
treatment. However, a signifi cant proportion of patients are still diag-
nosed in more advanced stages or their cancer returns after an initial
diagnosis of early-stage breast cancer. Those women with advanced breast
cancer are rarely cured with current available therapies. A cure for breast
cancer would benefi t women of all races, but especially would be a boon
for black women, who are more prone to developing aggressive tumors
that can be very challenging for physicians like me to treat successfully.
This is why I strongly recommend Dr. Holloway’s book that you are about
to read. Let me be very clear. If you are a black woman with breast cancer,
you need the information in this book whether you are diagnosed with an
early-stage or a more advanced breast cancer. In addition, if you are a per-
son interested in the problems faced by black women with breast cancer,
you also need to read this book. No other book concentrates exclusively
on black women and their breast cancer issues. Dr. Holloway is herself a
black woman who has faced breast cancer twice, and she knows how it
feels from the inside out. She is also an excellent researcher. Conse-
quently, this book provides both practical and invaluable heartfelt advice.
The Black Woman’s Breast Cancer Survival Guide: Understanding and
Healing in the Face of a Nationwide Crisis is a uniquely valuable book
because it summarizes and explains the fi ndings of clear-eyed research
demonstrating that, far too often, black women have signifi cantly worse
prognoses with their diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of breast can-
cer than white women, a fi nding that distresses Dr. Holloway and
