Cancer is serious. It is the 2nd leading cause of death for Pennsylvanians and claims more than 28,000 lives in Pennsylvania each year. There are close to 80,000 new cancer diagnoses in Pennsylvania each year.
Cancer health disparities are significant differences in the cancer-related health of one population group, compared to another group. Race, ethnicity, disability, gender, geographic location, income, education, or other characteristics may characterize these population groups.
You can see cancer health disparities in:
- quality of life
- advanced cancer diagnoses
- cancer death rates
- access to cancer-related treatment
- cancer screening
For example, why are African American men far more likely than non-Hispanic white men to die of prostate cancer?
Is it because there are differences in health insurance status, diet, genetics, or other factors? The Penn State Cancer Institute wants to understand what causes these differences and help populations to overcome them.
Click the tabs below to see the main cancer health disparities in the U.S. (according to the National Cancer Institute):
Priority Populations Who Experience Health Disparities:
The Penn State Cancer Institute’s priority populations are people who live in rural communities, Hispanics/Latinos, and African-Americans. Each population has their own unique cancer-related challenges.
Rural Populations
This map shows the 2011-2015 average annual number of cancer cases per year in rural counties. Counties in the darkest red color have the highest average annual number of cancer cases ranging between 274 and 896. Counties in the lightest yellow color have the lowest average number of cancer cases between 52 and 70. Counties in gray are considered metropolitan.
Almost half of the Cancer Institute’s service area live in a rural county. These counties have smaller populations and fewer businesses and services that can be far away from each other.
Access to health care is a big problem in rural areas. Some people have to travel long distances to a doctor’s office or hospital. Also, these areas don’t have public buses or trains, which forces individuals to find their own transportation.
19 out of the 28 counties in the catchment area are in Appalachia. Appalachia is a 205,000-square-mile region from Mississippi to New York along the Appalachian Mountains. The Northern Appalachia Cancer Network works in this area to lower the cancer burden among rural residents of Pennsylvania through community-based participatory education, training, and engaged cancer research.
Explore North Appalachia Cancer Network
Hispanic / Latino Populations
This map shows the average annual number of cancer cases between 2011 and 2015 among Hispanic/Latinos. Counties in the darkest red color have the highest average annual number of new cancer cases, between 78 and 124. Counties in the lightest yellow color have the lowest average number cancer new cases with fewer than 2.
Within the areas that the Cancer Institute’s serves, Hispanics have higher amounts of liver, thyroid, and cervical cancers!
More than 7% of the population in the Penn State Cancer Institute community is Hispanic/Latino. Hispanic/Latino individuals are deeply rooted in their communities and live mainly in the Lancaster, Berks, and Lehigh counties. Speaking a different language and not having access to health care are barriers to cancer-related care for this population.
In 2016, the Cancer Institute found that 40% of cancers in this population were diagnosed at the late-stage. This means when patients found out they had cancer, it had already spread into other areas of the body. Late-stage cancers typically take more work and more money to treat. These findings show the need to increase the availability of low cost or free cancer screening and to provide education about the benefits of early detection. The Hispanic/Latino Advisory Committee focuses on overcoming barriers through evidence-based health programs within these communities.
Explore Hispanic/Latino Advisory Committee
African American Populations
This map shows the average number of new cancer cases per year for African Americans/Blacks between 2011 and 2015. Counties in the darkest red color have the highest average number of new cancer cases, ranging between 82 and 191. Counties in the lightest yellow color have the lowest average number of new cancer cases, fewer than 3.
African American individuals have high amounts of late-stage cancer diagnoses as well as high numbers of prostate and breast cancers. Preventative actions like getting screened and changing risky behaviors can help reduce these numbers.
Approximately 5% of the population served by the Cancer Institute’s is African American/Black. Over half of the population living in the urban city of Harrisburg is African American/Black. Socioeconomic status, barriers to screening, and health literacy are focus areas to improving cancer health care for this population.
We know that cancer among African Americans may occur at different amounts than it does for other populations. In 2011, the Cancer Institute initiated a Community Health Worker Program in Harrisburg. Community health workers have a passion to reduce the cancer burden in their community. They provide cancer education and outreach focused upon cancer screening and early detection. This helps individuals on many levels, like:
- understanding the benefit of healthy lifestyle changes and cancer screening
- obtaining insurance or financial assistance
- finding transportation to medical appointments
Want to see more on these priority populations? Explore the Story Map resource.
References
National Cancer Institute. (2018). Cancer Health Disparities Research. Retrieved from https://www.cancer.gov/research/areas/disparities
Penn State Cancer Institute. (2018). The Story of Cancer in Central Pennsylvania [storymap]. Retrieved from http://redlands.pop.psu.edu/storymap