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Have a question about breast cancer? Text it to “646464” (OHOHOH).

Malaak Compton-Rock is an activist by nature.

Her experience in public relations and the cosmetics industry helped her draw star power to worthwhile causes after she went to work for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF (The United Nations Children’s Fund), where she designed and orchestrated numerous fundraising and advocacy events.

Compton-Rock then went on to found the Angelrock Project, an online e-village that promotes volunteerism, social responsibility, and sustainable change. The Angelrock Project provides information on how to be an effective volunteer, advice on monetary or in-kind donations, links to life-changing non-profit organizations and recommends fair trade companies whose products sustain third-world artisans.

She has now turned her attention to helping the Susan G. Komen foundation further its work in finding a cure for breast cancer, specifically Triple Negative Breast Cancer, a particularly virulent form of the disease that hits younger black women disproportionately.

According to the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation (TNBCF), while black women are less likely than white women to get breast cancer, when they do get the disease they tend to get it earlier (before age 40) and are 41 percent more likely to die from it. In fact, it is the second most common cancer and cause of cancer death among African American women.

Too many African American women discover that they have breast cancer when the disease is advanced, rather than at early stages when life-saving treatment may be more effective.

Black women are three times more likely than white women to get Triple Negative Breast Cancer.

Susan G. Komen is funding several grants to study this aggressive form of breast cancer in African American women and has teamed up with TNBCF on a promise grant to explore new treatment options for Triple Negative Breast Cancer.

Those interested in helping Komen and TNBCF to further their research work for Triple Negative Breast Cance, may donate by clicking on the Susan G. Komen image below.

“There is significant interest in better understanding TNBCF among researchers and scientists, who are working diligently to identify better treatment options,” Compton-Rock said in a statement announcing her support for the research effort.

Additionally, the public is invited to visit the TNBCF site for details on how to raise awareness about the disease on Triple Negative Breast Cancer Day on March 3.

TNBCF and Komen are encouraging men, as well as women, to be “breast self-aware” by:

•    Knowing their risk for breast cancer by talking to their doctors and knowing their family health histories.

•    Getting screened. Women over 20 at average risk should get a clinical breast exam at least every three years and starting at 40 to get a yearly mammogram.

•    Familiarizing yourself with your breasts and report any changes to your doctor.

•    Maintaining a healthy lifestyle – eating right, maintaining a healthy weight and exercising.

Click here for answers to your breast cancer questions.