Cancer Rates Have Dramatically Dropped Since Early 1990s, But Racial, Economic Disparities Persist
Early detection and optimal treatment for cancer are credited for the decrease. But the news wasn't all good: the cancer death rate in 2016 was 14 percent higher in African-Americans than in whites, and people living in the poorest counties in the U.S. were more likely to smoke and be obese, both risk factors for cancer.
The California Health Report (healthycal.org):
National Cancer Rates Saw Huge Drop In Last Quarter Century, But Less So For People Who Are Poor Or Of Color
New initiatives have been launched in the state in the last few years to reduce racial and socioeconomic disparities in cancer. For example, Roshan Bastani said UCLA has moved from taking an individual patient approach to taking a community approach when it comes to cancer prevention. “We are focusing on the environment people are in and working to change it as needed so that the healthy option is the default option.” Projects include working with community centers to ask all women patients whether they’ve had, if age appropriate, an HPV vaccine. They also ask about pap smears, which can detect cervical cancer before symptoms appear. (Kritz, 1/18)
In other public health news —
KALW:
Add Benzene In The Water To The List Of Post-Wildfire Concerns In Paradise
Officials in Paradise are trying to understand how much of the city's water supply has been contaminated with a carcinogenic chemical as a result of last November's deadly Camp Fire. The Paradise Irrigation District announced earlier this month that tests had come back positive for benzene — a flammable chemical used in the production of gasoline and plastic — but the extent of the contamination is still unclear. (Cotsirilos, 1/20)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Chico’s Mass Overdose Highlights Severe New Phase Of Opioid Epidemic
The incident is among the worst mass overdose events in Northern California since the opioid epidemic hit the state a decade or so ago. It offers a window into a still-new phase of that epidemic, as the ultra-potent drug fentanyl snakes into the supply of not just heroin and other opiates, but recreational drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy. (Allday, 1/21)