Wednesday, May 28, 2014

connection between paycheck and cancer

A real search term that recently led Yahoo to send someone to my blog. Really. I don't believe I have ever blogged about any such connection. I've seen allusions, in a few articles, to income and a cancer diagnosis. Since I am hardly well-versed on this topic, I looked it up.

PLEASE read the following links and share them. They are easily shared in social media.

First. As I write, this article just came out YESTERDAY! "Your Income Might Influence Your Risk For Certain Cancers."  Melanoma, my particular cancer is mentioned. Lovely. Here's the paragraph: "In the wealthiest areas, thyroid and testicular cancer, melanoma and other skin cancers were more common according to the report, published online May 27 in Cancer."

Please read that article. It ends with "For more information about cancer and poverty, visit the American Cancer Society." Read that link as well because it's THIS article that brings education into the picture. Be sure and click on the 5 graphics! Now, this article is from 2011, so I searched the American Cancer Society's website and found

Cancer Facts & Figures 2014

Scroll to page 48 for "Cancer Disparities" and you'll see the subtitle "Socioeconomic Status" and you'll read, "People with lower socioeconomic status (SES) have disproportionately higher cancer death rates than those with higher SES, regardless of demographic factors such as race/ethnicity. For example, cancer mortality rates among both African American and non-Hispanic white men with 12 or fewer years of education are almost 3 times higher than those of college graduates for all cancers combined, and are 4-5 times higher for lung cancer. Furthermore, progress in reducing cancer death rates has been slower in people with lower SES. These disparities occur largely because people with lower SES are at higher risk for cancer and have less favorable outcomes after diagnosis. People with lower SES are more likely to engage in behaviors that increase cancer risk, such as tobacco use, physical inactivity, and poor diet. This is in part because of marketing strategies that target these populations, but also because of environmental or community factors that provide fewer opportunities for physical activity and less access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Lower SES is also associated with financial, structural, and personal barriers to health care, including inadequate health insurance, reduced access to recommended preventive care and treatment services, and lower literacy rates. Individuals with no health insurance are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced cancer and less likely to receive standard treatment and survive their disease.  For example, stage II colorectal cancer patients with private insurance have better survival than stage I patients who are uninsured. For more information about the relationship between SES and cancer, see Cancer Facts & Figures 2011, Special Section, and Cancer Facts & Figures 2008, Special Section, available online at cancer.org."
 
Keep reading the online document for there is a great deal more information. A wide variety of topics are tackled.

My thanks to Yahoo for sending some unsuspecting person to my blog. I'm pretty sure they did not find, at the time, what they were looking for, but their search led me on my own. While I am disturbed by much I read and learned, I am grateful to have learned it.

There is much to be done on many levels to level the playing field. If we're in this together, like I preach and truly believe we are, then we need to get busy. God bless us, everyone.

charis
In the wealthiest areas, thyroid and testicular cancer, melanoma and other skin cancers were more common, according to the report, published online May 27 in Cancer.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/health/cancer/HealthDay688173_20140527_Your_Income_Might_Influence_Your_Risk_for_Certain_Cancers.html#shm8lUFpoOVlpZpe.99
In the wealthiest areas, thyroid and testicular cancer, melanoma and other skin cancers were more common, according to the report, published online May 27 in Cancer.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/health/cancer/HealthDay688173_20140527_Your_Income_Might_Influence_Your_Risk_for_Certain_Cancers.html#shm8lUFpoOVlpZpe.99
In the wealthiest areas, thyroid and testicular cancer, melanoma and other skin cancers were more common, according to the report, published online May 27 in Cancer.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/health/cancer/HealthDay688173_20140527_Your_Income_Might_Influence_Your_Risk_for_Certain_Cancers.html#shm8lUFpoOVlpZpe.99
In the wealthiest areas, thyroid and testicular cancer, melanoma and other skin cancers were more common, according to the report, published online May 27 in Cancer.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/health/cancer/HealthDay688173_20140527_Your_Income_Might_Influence_Your_Risk_for_Certain_Cancers.html#shm8lUFpoOVlpZpe.99
In the wealthiest areas, thyroid and testicular cancer, melanoma and other skin cancers were more common, according to the report, published online May 27 in Cancer.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/health/cancer/HealthDay688173_20140527_Your_Income_Might_Influence_Your_Risk_for_Certain_Cancers.html#shm8lUFpoOVlpZpe.99
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