The mortality rate from breast cancer is down significantly among black women in Chicago, and area experts are attributing a lot of that success to the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force.

In fact, the Chicago Department of Public Health gave the task force and its partners $700,000 to continue, and expand, its efforts, according to a new profile from the Chicago Sun-Times.

Anne Marie Murphy, executive director of the task force, explained in the article that black women frequently get treated at community hospitals instead of comprehensive care centers, which means they “may be treated with outdated and unnecessary procedures.” In addition, she said, complex insurance policies often lead to women missing their initial appointments.

“Think of it as ‘some people get good stuff and some people don’t,’” Murphy said.

The task force works to improve patient care for black women in the Chicago area through community outreach and other methods.

Click below to read the full article from the Chicago Sun-Times.