What does a woman do if she needs screening and treatment for breast cancer? A Chicago task force and groups such as the Sisters Network Inc, the only African-American breast cancer survivors network, are taking great lengths to provide the answer to that question, according to the Chicago Tribune.

"There are pockets of the city and suburbs where there are no academic medical centers and no hospitals at all," said Marie Rule Gilliam, the task force's executive director. "The problem is getting worse, not better," Gilliam said. "Twenty five years ago, there was no disparity. ... It's as if all the advances and education in medicine in empowering women to take charge of their health care have not benefited black women at all."

Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force is a coalition of health-care organizations, doctors, researchers and advocates working to reduce the alarming disparity between black and white Chicago women with breast cancer. They also assist with "patient navigation" programs that guide women to services that cover detection and treatment