OCTOBER IS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
Dr. Wendy Wilcox aims to end disparities in
breast cancer diagnoses and care
Caribbean Life, Oct. 9-15, 2020 3
By EMILY DAVENPORT
When it comes to breast cancer
in New York City, there are still disparities
in care for communities of
color. Dr. Wendy
Wilcox, boardcertified
Obstetrician
Gynecologist
and the Clinical
System Lead for
Women’s Health, as
well as Chairperson
of Obstetrics and
Gynecology for NYC
Health + Hospitals/
Kings County, has
practiced obstetrics,
gynecology and women’s health
with a focus on achieving health equity
and eliminating disparities across
populations throughout her career.
After earning a BA in Biomedical
Ethics from Brown University, Dr.
Wilcox attended SUNY Upstate Medical
Center and completed her residency
at Long Island College Hospital
in Brooklyn.
“There were women’s care counselors
that were placed in the dorms
to help students get to the right
resources in case of date rape, or to
help inform about public health topics
like STIs, how to stay healthy, or
how to identify eating disorders. I
became intrigued, not thinking that
this would inform what I do later,”
said Dr. Wilcox. “In that rotation,
I learned that liked talking to my
patients – you talk to the parents. I
really enjoyed a lot of teaching and
informing. As I was moving over to
women’s health, it’s such a wide-open
field – it just drew me in.”
Dr. Wilcox became an attending at
Montefiore Medical Center, which led
to her being director of her medical
group and Assistant Professor in Ob-
Gyn at the Albert Einstein College of
Medicine. Recently, Dr. Wilcox was
named Co-chair for Governor Cuomo’s
Taskforce on Maternal Mortality
and Disparate Racial Outcomes, which
recommended the newly formed New
York State Maternal Mortality Review
Committee.
In her experience, Dr. Wilcox notices
that those who are coming for their
annual check-ups and mammographies
are generally already engaged
in their health and tend to follow the
recommended practices. The problem
comes with those who aren’t seeking
treatment, particularly those who are
African American or are of African
descent, who are at a higher risk of
dying from breast cancer.
“There is still a mistrust of the
medical community for valid reasons,”
said Dr. Wilcox. “Historically
we can look back and see many many
examples of how African Americans
and immigrants sometimes have been
the victims of some really horrific
medical experiments. African American
women are much more likely to
die of breast cancer than Caucasian
women because they are generally
diagnosed at a later stage, and are
more likely to have triple negative
breast cancer. The gap is widening
where there was a disparity before.”
Triple negative breast cancer, which
shows no estrogen receptors, progesterone
receptors, and excess HER2
protein accounts for 10-15% of breast
cancer and has a low survival rate.
It is common for African American
women under the age of 40, or women
with the BRCA1 mutation.
Multiple health organizations recommend
that women start getting
regular mammograms at the age of 40.
In Dr. Wilcox’s experience, she finds
that many women aren’t getting their
mammograms because they think the
procedure is more painful than it actually
is. While in the age of COVID-19,
Dr. Wilcox notes that her practice, as
well as others throughout the city, are
taking precautions to make sure a doctor’s
visit is safe for patients.
While there are some genetic factors
that can lead to the development
of breast cancer, Dr. Wilcox says that
maintaining your overall health can
help reduce your risk factors for developing
breast cancer. Certain things
like quitting smoking and managing
your weight can be beneficial, as well
as staying away from processed foods
can help reduce the risk for women
at any age, while women of reproductive
age can breastfeed to reduce
their risk.
“The healthier one is in general,
then the healthier one will be when
looking at certain diseases,” said Dr.
Wilcox. “Eating healthy, eating correct
amounts of fruits and vegetables,
exercising, trying to avoid refine and
processed foods and sugars, reducing
alcohol intake. There are some changes
that happen during menopause
— many gain weight and experience
insomnia
“We may not be as concerned about
our nutritional intake, the older one
gets the higher the chances of one
having breast cancer is a lifetime risk,
and it increases in menopause,” she
said. “Being thoughtful of maintaining
overall health is good for your
breasts.”
Dr. Wendy Wilcox.