African American Women Need Earlier Screening for Breast Cancer – Women
African American Women Need Earlier Screening for Breast Cancer
Drahcir Semaj
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death for women, ages 40-55, and African American women under the age of 45 are more likely to develop breast cancer than any other group of women in the US.
Every three minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer; every 12 minutes a woman dies from breast cancer and every year over 5000 African American women die from the disease.
Although the cause of breast cancer is still unclear, researchers have determined that African American women tend to develop breast cancer at earlier ages than white women and they typically develop more aggressive types of tumors.
Breast cancer often occurs in African American women under the age of 40 and as early as age 25.
In a study of breast cancer tumors in African American and white women, conducted by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in 2004, researchers determined that breast tumors in young African American women were more likely to be fast-growing and more aggressive than those found in white women.
"One of the important conclusions from this study is that even when you correct for stage
My Introduction To Northwest Coast Native American Art – Travel
My Introduction To Northwest Coast Native American Art
Clint Leung
I had lived in Vancouver very briefly as a child and it was during that time when I was first exposed to the art of the Northwest Coast Native American Indians. It was the towering colorful totem poles out in Stanley Park that everyone gazed at with wonder and appreciation. It took about 30 years later during a return trip to Vancouver when Northwest Coast Native American art caught my eyes again.
I was in Vancouver for business and landed at the citys new airport terminal. One could not help but notice the huge native carvings near the arrivals area. Later on during my stay, I decided to wander around in the Gastown district. It was in these shops and galleries in Gastown where I fell in love with Northwest Coast Native American art. I saw many wonderful wooden plaques representing different animals. There were also art prints, paintings, masks, wooden bowls and even furnature with these animals either painted or carved right into the pieces.
The colors and designs, which might be considered a bit exaggerated to non-native eyes, were striking as well as bold. I knew at that time that I wanted to include some of this magnificent artwork on my walls back at home. So I bought two plaque carvings and carried them home like newly found treasure.
Historically, the native Indians who lived along the river valleys and coastal waters of the Pacific Northwest were all hunters and gatherers. The region was blessed with abundant resources from both the seas and forests. These people captured in their artwork the animals they hunted and observed. These included bears, killer whales, eagles, ravens, salmons, wolves, hummingbirds and even frogs. Chiefs and mythical characters important in their legends such as thunderbirds were also included as art subjects.
Northwest Coast Native American art is just only recently gaining some major attention in some galleries and museums around the world. Compared to other native arts such as Inuit Eskimo, exposure of Northwest Coast Native American art is still rather limited to the northwest coast of Canada and the United States. This form of artwork is virtually unknown to most parts of the world including many regions of North America. This will hopefully change as more people from around the world travel to Vancouver. The future winter Olympics in 2010 up in Whistler, BC will also have a positive impact on the regions Native Indian art. I personally believe that Northwest Coast Native American art has a lot of potential to be internationally recognized and accepted.
To see this article complete with photos of actual carvers and their artwork, go to http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca
About The Author
Clint Leung is owner of Free Spirit Gallery http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca, an online gallery specializing in Inuit and Northwest Native art including carvings, sculpture and prints. Free Spirit Gallery has numerous information resource articles on both Inuit and Native art as well as free eCards.
info@FreeSpiritGallery.ca