Happy New Year 2013

Reducing Health Disparities in Cancer

We at Muriel Lights' will continue to make prevention our top goal; but listening to your body is most important and making sure you have a doctor who is listening to you is your goal.  Cancer death rates continue to decrease but early detection is still a problem amoung racial and ethnic groups here is some information provided by CDC.

• Improve early detection of cancer through routine mammography, Pap tests, and colorectal cancer screening.
• Implement evidence-based community interventions to increase screening and modify risk behaviors.
• Develop research projects that will encourage minority groups to participate in clinical trials for cancer prevention to ensure that significant differences between minority and ethnic groups are identified.
• Undertake research that will inform decisions about interventions to reduce cancer disparities and improve health. There is a growing need for interventions that are available to people regardless of socioeconomic status or lifestyle behaviors that also addresses the social environment.
• Use a variety of media and channels to market cancer information to diverse populations in a variety of settings.

Access to quality cancer care and clinical trials needs to be expanded to ensure that minority groups are provided the same care and access to state-of-the-art technology that patients in major care centers receive.
Fear of cancer, perceived cost of care, and lack of physician referral are common barriers to cancer screening and other preventive services. Health care providers play a critical role in recommending and increasing use of preventive services. Research shows that physician recommendation is a major predictor of receipt of screening.

Cancer Among Children
Among children aged 19 years or younger, cancer incidence rates increased 0.6% per year from 2004 through 2008, continuing trends from 1992. Death rates decreased 1.3% per year during the same period.

Cancer Among Racial and Ethnic Groups

Black men and white women had the highest cancer incidence rates between 2004 and 2008. Black men and black women had the highest cancer death rates during the same time period, but these groups showed the largest decreases for the period between 1999 and 2008, compared with other racial groups.
CDC and other public health agencies, health care providers, and communities of all racial and ethnic groups must become partners in a national effort to—

 http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/healthdisparities/basic_info/disparities.htm