The incident rate for African American females UNDER 45 is higher than white women.

• Breast cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death among African American women, surpassed only by lung cancer.
•  In 2011, an estimated 26,840 new cases of Breast cancer and 6,040 deaths were expected to occur among African American women.
• Triple Negative breast cancer is shown to disproportionately affect young African American women.
•  Triple Negative is used to describe breast cancers (usually invasive ductal carcinomas) whose cells do not have estrogen receptors and progesterone receptors, and do not have an excess of the HER2 protein on their surfaces.
• Breast cancers with these characteristics tend to occur more often in younger women and in African American women. They also tend to grow and spread more quickly than most other types of breast cancer.
• Because the tumor cells lack these receptors, neither hormone therapy nor drugs that target HER2 are effective against these cancers (although chemotherapy may be useful if needed). It can also be more highly aggressive in younger African American women (premenopausal).
• Risk factors of breast cancer include age, family history, obesity, and alcohol consumption and physical inactivity 
• Strategies that may help prevent breast cancer include avoiding weight gain and obesity, engaging in regular physical activity, and minimizing alcohol intake.

Source: American Cancer Society