Cancer Linked to Poverty
NEW ORLEANS (AP) –
Nearly 18,300 new cases of invasive cancer were diagnosed each year from 1988 through 2000 in Louisiana, according to a report released by the Louisiana Tumor Registry.More than 237,600 cases of invasive were diagnosed in that 13-year period – an average of 18,300 per year.
Cancers of the lung, prostate, breast, colon and rectum, and bladder – in that order – were the five most commonly diagnosed cancers in the state, the 214-page report indicates.
St. Helena Parish had the lowest overall incidence of cancers for both white men and women, and black men and women.
The LSU Health Sciences Center-run registry says the report, titled “Cancer in Louisiana,” is significant because it contains first-of-its-kind, parish-by-parish cancer incidence data.
“With the accumulation of 13 years of statewide data, the ability to analyze data over smaller geographic areas in scientifically meaningful and reliable ways has been greatly enhanced,” the report states. “We hope that this report results in new, tangible progress in cancer control in our communities.”
Catherine Correa, a Louisiana Tumor Registry epidemiologist and LSU Health Sciences Center School of Medicine assistant professor helped prepare the report. It serves to document the occurrence of cancer in Louisiana in order to identify those who may benefit most from cancer prevention and control programs, she said. It also indicates areas where scientific investigation is particularly needed.
Fellow registry epidemiologist Patricia Andrews cautioned that the report neither addresses causality nor draws conclusions.
“We do know that cancer rates can be affected by poverty level,” Correa added, saying access to medical care and good nutrition are important factors.
The report’s executive summary indicates that the incidence rate for all types of cancer was 59 percent higher among males than females in Louisiana. Also, cancer rates were roughly 12 percent higher among black males than white males, both statistics consistent with national figures.
The Louisiana Tumor Registry is mandated by law to collect, analyze and disseminate information on cancer in the state. The statewide registry computes cancer incidence rates by age, race, sex, geographic region and other population characteristics in order to identify subgroups that may be at particularly high or low cancer risk.
Registry data provide the foundation for studies evaluating the efficacy of clinical therapies, diagnostic procedures, screening and early detection programs, and other cancer prevention and control initiatives.
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Information from: The Advocate, http://www.theadvocate.com
A related story from the same source…
GRINDING POVERTY IN RURAL PARISHES
Some of America’s worst areas of grinding poverty in the midst of a nation of affluence are found along the back roads of the rural South, particularly in our own Mississippi Delta parishes.
A new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides a snapshot of the problems of poverty in rural America.
Many of the findings are not new. The South is home to 280 of the 386 counties nationwide that have shown persistent poverty during the past 30 years.
http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/081304/opi_edi001.shtml
Tags: Health